2022 in Review

 

Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours
YTD: 252 Books Read, 2315 Hours Spent -- personal bests
This Month: 22 Books Read, 198 Hours Spent

 

Best Fiction of the Year: Five-Carat Soul by James McBride, The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Best Non-fiction of the Year: And There was Light by John Meacham, My Remarkable Journey by Katharine Johnson, Taste by Stanley Tucci
Worst of the Year: Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco, Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich
*Biggest Disappointments of the Year: The Bat by Jane Rinehart Roberts, Tragedy at Law by Cyril Hare, The Last Judgement by Iain Pears, Mrs. Polifax and the Whirling Dervish by Dorothy Gilman

 *Disappointing because they are well below the normal standards of the author

 

 

Best of the Month: Five-Carat Soul, And There Was Light,
Worst of the Month: Lost and Found in Paris, Rise of the Rocket Girls
Biggest Surprises of the Month: In-Depth Market Research and The Uncommon Reader

 

What a year! Two-hundred-fifty-two books. I can't believe I read that many.

Of the 252 books devoured, 205 of them were new titles (up from 131 in 2021), for which I must thank my new-in-2021 library card -- and my reading buddies for helping me find new books and series in which to indulge. Yet, at the same time, I must bemoan the loss of the annual re-read of every Dick Francis, Georgette Heyer and Nevil Shute in my Audible library. Now that I have a library card to support my expensive book habit, I don't need to depend so heavily on re-reads to fill the year --even though I do miss them. I discovered a number of new authors and series this year that will keep me reading for at least the next few years.

I read a good share of non-fiction as well, some of it very well worth the time and effort and others that weren't worth the paper they were written on. I enjoyed spending time with Stanley Tucci, Sonia Sotomayor, Katharine Johnson (of Hidden Figures fame) and Ronnie Howard and his brother. Jon Meacham's latest warts and all Lincoln biography was enlightening. I even threw in some math and science for an even mix.

Yes, there were some duds this year but they were few in comparison to the number of really excellent books I had the pleasure to listen to this past year.

Reading-wise 2022 was a very good year and I'm ready to tackle 2023 with gusto!

Here's the list of reads for December, 2022

The Nine Tailors -- Dorothy L. Sayers -- Re-read
And There Was Light -- Jon Meacham -- NEW193
The Fortnight in September -- R.C. Sherriff -- NEW194
Rise of the Rocket Girls -- Nathalia Holt -- NEW195
Sad Cypress -- Agatha Christie -- NEW196
The Uncommon Reader -- Alan Bennett -- NEW197
In the Frame -- Dick Francis -- Re-read
Proof -- Dick Francis -- Re-read
Slay Ride -- Dick Francis -- NEW198
The Phantom Tollbooth -- Norton Juster -- Re-read
Aunty Lee's Delights -- Ovidia Yu -- NEW199
In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People -- Alison Espach -- NEW200
Double Indemnity -- James M. Cain -- Re-read
Sacred Treasures -- R. Mark Glickman -- Re-read
Jimmy the Kid -- Donald Westlake -- Re-read
Mort -- Terry Pratchett -- Re-read
Lost and Found in Paris -- Lian Dolan -- NEW201
The October Man -- Ben Aaronovitch -- NEW202
Five-Carat Soul -- James McBride -- NEW203
For Kicks -- Dick Francis -- NEW204
Youngblood Hawke -- Herman Wouk -- NEW205
Hogfather -- Terry Pratchett -- Re-read

 

Twenty Four Festive Tasks: Game Summary

 

 

Tasks=61 • Books=20 • Bonus=1 • Grand Total=82

Door 1:  Read a book set in the Southern Hemisphere, or that has a beach-y scene on the cover.

Photo Finish by Ngaio Marsh
Melbourne Cup: https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/10/30/peregrinations-melbourne-cup/
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/11/08/peregrinations-24-festive-tasks-21/
Points: 5 +Bonus=6

Door 2:   Read a holiday themed book.

https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/16/peregrinations-door-2-holiday-themed-books/
Points: 2

 Door 3:  Read a book with the sun, or festive lights on the cover, or a book that’s set somewhere sunny.

Klara and the Sun  by Kazuo Ishiguro
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/11/21/door-3-light/
Points: 4

Door 4:  Read a book that has an object that can be used as a Christmas decoration on the cover.

https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/16/peregrinations-door-4-decorating/
Points: 2

Door 5:   Read a book that has an animal on the cover, or involves someone who works in conservation.

Bonecrack by Dick Francis
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/11/22/peregrinations-door-5-animals/
Points: 3

Door 6:  Read a book with the word “color” or the name of a(ny) color in the title.

A Freeman of Color by Barbara Hambly
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/16/peregrinations-door-6-colors/
Points: 3

Door 7:   Read a book with a cover that would make beautiful wrapping paper; or read a book that you would have enjoyed giving or receiving as a gift.

Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/17/peregrinations-door-7-gift-giving-wrapping/
Points: 3

Door 8:  Read a book where the plot involves music or the people who perform or write it; or read a non-fiction memoir by a musician.

Agent Josephine by Damian Lewis.
Okay, it is not a memoir but it does tell the story of this beloved performer.
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/19/peregrinations-door-8-music/
Points: 5

Door 9:   Read a book that has something lucky on the cover or in the title; or that has a cover that is more than 50% red, yellow and green, which are considered lucky colors in China.

Five-Carat Soul by James McBride
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/24/peregrinations-door-9-cycles/
Points: 5

Door 10:  Read a book in which the ending of a conflict is a major theme or which has the word “Peace” in its title.

In the Hurricane's Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/25/peregrinations-door-10-peace/
Points: 4

Door 11:  Read a family saga, a book about an especially dysfunctional family, a book that involves big changes for the main character, or a book with a split timeline (one that takes place in the present and one that takes place in the past).

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/25/peregrinations-door-11-personal-and-family-traditions-cherished-memories/
Points: 3

Door 12:  Read something with snow or ice on the cover or a book set in Scandinavia / Northern Europe, in Alaska, or in Northern Canada.

Slay Ride by Dick Francis
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/25/peregrinations-door-12-northern-hemisphere/
Points: 1

Door 13:   Read a book about someone who works retail, or that has a retail establishment on the cover (shop, café etc).

Proof by Dick Francis. The main character runs a small neighborhood wine etc. shop.
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/25/peregrinations-door-13-holiday-shopping/

Door 14: Read a book written by an author whose last name begins with the letters G, A, M, E, or S.

First Friends by Gary Ginsberg
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/27/peregrinations-door-14-games-2/
Points: 4

Door 15:  Read an epistolary novel, a novel with a 2d person narrative POV (“you”), a collection of nonfiction correspondence, or a novel in which correspondence forms a significant part of the plot.

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/27/peregrinations-door-15-correspondence/
Points: 2

Door 16:  Book task: Read A Christmas Carol, or read a book in which poverty or hardship are significant plot elements.

I just read ACC for HB and the alternative sounds too depressing to read.
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/28/peregrinations-door-16-charity/
Points: 3

Door 17:  Read a book about food, where the main character is a chef, gourmand, or bartender, brewer or distiller, or which has food on the cover.

Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/28/peregrinations-door-17-food-drink/
Points: 4

Door 18:  Read a book featuring rituals of any kind (religious, sports, family, club, community, social group, whatever) as part of the plot, or read a story involving pilgrims on a journey of self-discovery or faith, be it personal or religious.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/30/peregrinations-door-18-spiritual-practice-or-religious-observance/
Points: 3

Door 19:  Read a fairy tale, or folklore story, or a book based on either; or read an entry into a series that focuses on one specific community.

https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/30/peregrination-door-19-community-traditions-folklore/
Points: 3

Door 20:  Read a book that involves the main character travelling.

In the Frame by Dick Francis
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/30/peregrinations-door-20-travel/
Points: 5

Door 21:  Read a book from the fantasy genre, or one with something on the cover that refers to luck.

Mort by Terry Pratchett
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/31/peregrinations-door-21-good-luck-charms-and-traditions/
Points: 4

 
Door 22:  Read a book of science fiction or a novel or nonfiction book related to STEM. 

The Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/31/peregrinations-door-22-science-and-secular-holidays/
Points: 3

Door 23:  To celebrate Santa Claus: read a book that qualifies as a comfort read for you. If you want to celebrate Krampus: read a book that is going to scare you! 

Jimmy the Kid by Donald E. Westlake
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/31/peregrinations-door-23-iconic-figures/
Points: 3

Door 24: Read Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather or another book in which a fictional holiday (like Hogswatch) plays a central role.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
https://www.secretreadingroom.com/2022/12/31/peregrinations-door-24-fictional-literature-based-holidays/
Points: 2

September, 2022 Reads

 

Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours
YTD:  189 Books Read, 1771 Hours Spent
This Month: 23 Books Read, 179 Hours Spent
 
September just flew by. Between birthdays, anniversaries, theater & concerts, holidays and the start of Halloween Bingo, it was a very busy, fun-filled month in real life and reading-wise.  Lots of good books this month, brought to me compliments of Halloween Bingo. I finished my Bingo reading on September 29. I wanted to read and I just kept reading and reading until I realized I has just a few books away and would finish before the end of the month. Reading is more fun than chores, don't you agree?
 

Best of the Best of the Month: Straight,  The Summons, The Honjin Murders
Biggest Disappointment of the Month: Plum Spooky (the only "spooky" was in the title)
Biggest Smile of the Month/Trip Down Memory Lane: The Hunt for Red October, One Hundred Years of Solitude
Best Not Talked About: The Mummy Case

 

 

THE LIST:

One Hundred Years of Solitude  --  Gabriel Garcia Marquez  --  Re-read
The Hunt for Red October  --  Tom Clancy  --  Re-read
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow  --  Washington Irving  --  Re-read
Plum Spooky  --  Janet Evanovich  --  NEW147
Died in the Wool  --  Ngaio Marsh  --  NEW148
A Taste for Poison  --  Neil Bradbury  --  NEW149
Lord of the Wings  --  Donna Andrews  --  NEW150
Day of Atonement  --  Faye Kellerman  --  Re-read
Senlin Ascends  --  Josiah Bancroft  --  NEW151  --  DNF
The Marlow Murder Club  --  Robert Thorogood  --  NEW152
Hercule Poirot's Christmas  --  Agatha Christie  --  Re-read
Down Among the Dead Men  --  Peter Lovesey  --  NEW153
The Furthest Station  --  Ben Aaronovitch  --  NEW154
The Spaceship Next Door  --  Gene Doucette  --  Re-read
A Christmas Carol  --  Charles Dickens  --  Re-read
Enquiry  --  Dick Francis  --  Re-read
The Honjin Murders  --  Seishi Yokomizo  --  NEW155
The Benevent Murders  --  Patricia Wentworth  --  NEW156
Vintage Murder  --  Ngaio Marsh  --  NEW157
The Mummy Case  --  Elizabeth Peters  --  NEW157 --  DNF
Straight  --  Dick Francis  --  NEW158
Call for the Dead  --  John Le Carre  --  Re-read
The Summons  --  Peter Lovesey  --  NEW159

Quote from The Week, September 9, 2022

From "A conservative in the wilderness" excerpted from an article by Ed Pilkington about former Arizona State Speaker of the house, Rusty Bowers published in The Guardian. Asked by John Eastman to decertify the Arizona 2020 election results, Bowers said, "No." His reasoning, as explained to Pilkington:

 

"Taking away the fundamental right to vote, the idea that the legislature could nullify your election, that's not conservative. That's fascist. And I'm not a fascist."

 

One Hundred Years of Solitude

 

By: Gabriel García Márquez, (Gregory Rabassa, translator)
Narrated by: John Lee
Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 01-28-14

 

 

 

Editorial Review

Already a journalist and writer of literary fiction, lauded Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez made his true debut into magical realism with One Hundred Years of Solitude. This piece of literature is a treasure of Latin America's 20th-century literary scene and a strong piece of Colombian history.

The character-driven story of the mythical town of Macondo showcases all aspects of the human race. From the introspective and haunted patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, and his wife, Úrsula Iguarán, to illegitimate son Aureliano José, one of the many Aureliano Buendía's fathered by Colonel Aureliano Buendía, each character is unique and emblematic of the spectrum of humanity housed in this fictional town.

Gabriel García Márquez did more than launch his own foray into magic realism with this piece of classic literature. He was also one of the first four authors from South America named as part of the Latin American Boom, a literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Alongside Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, and Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, the Colombian icon’s work was circulated worldwide. To date, One Hundred Years of Solitude has sold 50 million copies in 46 languages and counting.

John Lee adds his voice to this brilliant chronicle of life for Latin Americans, making the audiobook come to life for the listener. He brings the art of García Márquez’s fiction and the lyrical magic of the town of Macondo to the forefront with a strong delivery, worthy of patriarch José Arcadio Buendía, all the way down to Aureliano Babilonia of the sixth generation. — Audible Latino Editor

 

This will be short

I have always been enthralled by and in awe of Garcia M's imagination. He leaves me speechless each time I read his work. Where do these words and images come from? The truth is that I am not as interested in the story arc or deeper meanings as I am in spending time with the characters, the setting and the language -- even in translation.

 

The Woman in the Library

 

 

 

By: Sulari Gentill
Narrated by: Katherine Littrell
Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 06-09-22

 

 

Publisher's Summary
Ned Kelly award winning author Sulari Gentill sets this mystery-within-a-mystery in motion with a deceptively simple, Dear Hannah, What are you writing? pulling us into the ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library.

In every person's story, there is something to hide...

The  tranquility is shattered by a woman's terrified scream. Security guards  take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until  the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the  all-clear, four strangers, who'd happened to sit at the same table, pass  the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or  her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning―it just  happens that one is a murderer.

Sulari Gentill delivers a sharply thrilling read with The Woman in the Library, an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated  nature of friendship and shows us that words can be the most treacherous  weapons of all.

 

I don't want to talk about this book

 I liked this book too much to spoil it for others by talking about what happens in the story or by talking about the characters or the plot twists; there is enough already in the publisher's summaries to figure out if it is your kind of story.  I liked the structure -- a novel within an epistolary novel (this much I am willing to spoil, just to get you hooked).  It is what makes this novel a stand-out. It is not your everyday cookie-cutter murder mystery.  

Lean Mean Thirteen

 

 

 

By: Janet Evanovich
Narrated by: Lorelei King
Series: Stephanie Plum, Book 13
Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 06-01-07

 

 

Summary

New secrets, old flames, and hidden agendas are about to send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most outrageous adventure yet!

MISTAKE #1 Dickie  Orr. Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before she  caught him cheating on her with her arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt.  Another fifteen minutes after that Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping  to never see either one of them again.

MISTAKE #2 Doing  favors for super bounty hunter Carlos Manoso (a.k.a. Ranger). Ranger  needs her to meet with Dickie and find out if he's doing something  shady. Turns out, he is. Turns out, he's also back to doing Joyce  Barnhardt. And it turns out Ranger's favors always come with a price...

MISTAKE #3 Going  completely nutso while doing the favor for Ranger, and trying to apply  bodily injury to Dickie in front of the entire office. Now Dickie  has disappeared and Stephanie is the natural suspect in his  disappearance. Is Dickie dead? Can he be found? And can she stay one  step ahead in this new, dangerous game? Joe Morelli, the hottest cop in  Trenton, NJ is also keeping Stephanie on her toes―and he may know more  than lets on about her…It's a cat-and-mouse game for Stephanie Plum,  where the ultimate prize might be her life.

 

 

A fun 7 hours

Evanovich is the antithesis to Sue Grafton (which I stopped reading somewhere around K; lost interest). Where Grafton is dark and edgy,  Evanovich is laugh out-loud funny, like reading a comic book. The "Stephanie Plum" series  is "cozy" without the heavy dose of saccharine I find in a lot of the hard-core cozies; too much sugar in the diet is not a good thing. The characters are a hoot, caricatures, really but good people when all is said and done (except for the bad guys, who are rotten to the core, of course). Fun to read every now and then but don't look for me to be binge-reading the entire series -- even if I do have two Stephanie Plum's scheduled for Halloween Bingo. File this one under "necessary roughage."

Three stars

 

The Appeal

 

 

 

By Janice Hallett
Narrated by Daniel Philpott, Aysha Kala, Rachel Adedeji, Sid Sagar
Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 01-25-22

 

 

The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival.
 
But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to an appeal, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that the killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered.

 

JUST WHO IS THE BAD GUY IN THIS STORY? Glad I stuck with it
 
My daughter recommended this one. It the only reason why I didn't quit after the first 20 minutes because this book doesn't work well as an audiobook. I had to accept that fact and move on. It helped that in spite of the medium issues, the book was well written and caught my interest.

The Appeal is an interesting twist on the epistolary novel, told in e-mails rather than actually letters, there being a difference in the conventions between the two modes of communication, length being the most noteworthy. My immediate reaction was that the author chose the epistolary style out of laziness. That's what I thought when I was looking for excuses to downgrade the book. Still, listening to e-mails read out loud headers and all can be tedious. Where a reader would skim the headers, an audiobook has to read out all of the words on the page-- and it gets repetitive very quickly.

As I said, I quickly came to see just how wrong I was about the author being lazy. It's harder to do character development well, not easier, when you are limited to the words your characters would put down on paper and what other people have to say about those characters in their e-mails. There are multiple narrators, some of who are reliable and others of who are not. The reader has to work out who is reliable and who isn't, even as the characters in the book have to work out who is reliable and who isn't as they exchange e-mails.

All in all, it turned out to be a twisting, turning mare's nest of a well written mystery. It is halfway through the story before the name of the victim is revealed and even further into it until you learn whose conviction is being appealed. Janice Hallett, while a first time novelist, is a former magazine editor, a journalist, a playwright (NetherBard) and a screenwriter (Retreat). Her maturity and experience showed.

I'm giving this one just shy of four stars -- and can't wait until January for her second novel to be published.

July, 2022 Reads

YTD:  145 Books Read, 1385 Hours Spent
Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours

This Month: 23 Books Read, 188 Hours Spent

Wow, that was a fast July

What I would have expected to be a slow, lazy month just flew by. Maybe because I really enjoyed most of the books that I read -- and consumed them like candy or movie popcorn, one after another. July was yet another month where no books stood out as either particular annoying or particularly stellar. There is nothing here to rave about but still plenty to choose from if you are looking for something new or different to read.

 

 

 

Death on the Nile  --  Agatha Christie  --  Re-read
Murder on the Rue Dumas  --  ML Longworth  --  NEW110
Death in the Vines -- ML Longworth -- NEW111
Tempest-Tost -- Robertson Davies -- NEW112
Murder on the Ile Sordou -- ML Longworth -- NEW113
Enter a Murderer -- Ngaio Marsh -- NEW114
Mrs. Pollifax Pursued -- Dorothy Gilman -- NEW115
Daughters of Cain -- Colin Dexter -- NEW116
Mystery of the Lost Cezanne -- M.L. Longworth -- NEW117
The Door Between -- Ellery Queen -- NEW118
The Secret of the Bastide Blanche -- M.L. Longworth -- NEW119
A Noel Killing -- M.L. Longworth -- NEW120
The Vanish Museum on the Rue Mistral -- M.L. Longworth -- NEW121
Halfway House -- Ellery Queen -- NEW122
The Nursing Home Murder -- Ngaio Marsh -- NEW123
Killing with Confetti -- Peter Lovesey -- NEW124
Miniatures -- John Scalzi -- NEW125
The Spirit of Steamboat -- Craig Johnson -- NEW126
Upon a Dark Night -- Peter Lovesey -- Re-read
Untimely Death -- Cyril Hare -- NEW127
Racing the Devil -- Charles Todd -- NEW128
Death on the Nile -- Agatha Christie -- Re-read
Stagestruck -- Peter Lovesey -- NEW128

 

Taking Out the Trash -- July

 

 

No wonder my trash can is overflowing! I have read thirty books in the past six weeks and not written about a single one of them. Time to remedy that -- and hopefully in a manner that will inflict the least amount of pain on both reader and writer.

A lot of comfort reading in this lot, making it impossible to name best and worst reads of the month. Nothing stood out one way or another. No dents in the plaster but no blue ribbons either.  Am I mellowing with age? Still, a whole lot of reading going on and that's what counts.

I'm starting with the non-fiction reads, since there were only a handful of them. 

The Library Book
Written and read by : Susan Orleans

An enjoyable meander through a topic I find interesting books about libraries. I think this one was touted as "true crime" just to attract an audience -- and because no one really knew where to pigeon-hole it.  The author starts with the story of the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire but actually writes a history of the L.A. Country Public Library system. In the process, she also writes about how the idea of the role of the library in the community has changed, particularly over the 40 years. (Found in Murder by Death's stacks)

 

Home Work:  A Memoir of My Hollywood Years
By: Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton
Narrated by: Julie Andrews

Taste: My Life Through Food
Written and read by Stanley Tucci

 

I generally avoid celebrity memoirs but I will read books by actors I respect. Andrews and Tucci meet that criteria -- normal people who happen to work in show business, people who are role models.  Andrews dragged after a bit, interesting but repetitive. On the other hand, as a lover of good home cooked food and local "mom and pop" eateries that feature really good cooking, I enjoyed Tucci's story -- even the sad parts. 

The Great Courses: The Late Middle Ages
Taught by Philip Daileader

One of the best courses I have listened to.  Daileader talks in broad themes, not boring details -- and he is a pleasure to listen to. I wish they had taught this way when I was in school all those many years ago.

I want to call this next section, "Because You Liked It."  These are books or authors I have tried because my reading buddies have waxed poetic.

Two books from Canadian author Roberston Davies, both read by Frederick  Davidson:
The Lyre of Orpheus
Tempest-Tost

I have Wanda to thank for this author. I love Davies and I am taking my good old time getting through his oeuvre. He is a cynic par excellence. His pen is poisoned and no one is spared but it is done ever so gently. I like his story-telling. It is obvious that he is enjoying poking fun at his characters while he spins their tale.  To boot, I very much enjoy Davidson's narration because it is so clear that he gets Davies and never overplays him; he is delightfully subtly whenever he needs to be.

 

Murder by Death got me started on M.L. Longworth's  Verlaques and Bonnet series and I am working my through it as quickly as the library will let me. It isn't perfect but it is for the most part enjoyable. I started in the middle and then went back to the beginning to read it in order.  It is set in Aix-en-Provence, a delightfully snooty old city in the south of Provence. I got a little bit annoyed with her in book four when she decided to add some wholly gratuitous explicit sex. It was so out of place and awkward, and had nothing to do with the story. And, I got super-annoyed in book five when the author started making up facts. Her historical timeline was so far off that her story was entirely implausible. Then she said that one of her characters had to sell her parents entire art collection to pay the inheritance taxes. Really? Were her parents that stupid not to have take precautions to prevent that from happening. The whole collection just to pay the taxes? Really, a tax bill of  100% of the realized value? Yep, the eyeballs are just rolling.  A few more dumb mistakes like these and I may have to ditch the series before the end.

Longworth makes a good transition into the next grouping. I've been slowly pecking away at the various series that I have started. They fill the gaps when I don't know what I want to read -- and I have seemed to be rather ignorant the past few months.

 

I learned that Peter Grainger added another book to his D.C. Smith series, The Truth.  As much as I liked Smith and was sad to see him go, I think that this coda was unnecessary. I don't have a problem with Smith appearing in the new Kings Lake series  as a supporting character but I think that his story has been told and it is time to move on. His new role as mentor and confidante to the newly formed Kings Lake "Murder Squad" works far better than DC Smith private investigator.

I've started buying up Ngaio Marsh books. I have read a bunch already but I want to read more so I decided to start at book one and start filling in the gaps.  I have 10 in my library and there are 32 of them available: I have a ways to go. I enjoy her stories and I find her output to be a lot more even than Christie.  I just hope I get them all bought up before Audible stops selling them.

I'm continuing with other series but have nothing in particular to say about any of them that I haven't already said, probably multiple times.  On this list for this outing are Heathcliff Lennox (Menuhin), Vera Stanhope (Cleeves), Inspector Ian Rutledge (Todd), Mrs. Pollifax (Gilman), and Slough House (Herron). 

New author

Colin Dexter:I have no recollection of how he got on to my TBR pile but there he was.  I never did watch the TV series so I went in knowing nothing about Morse and his Watson. Or should I be saying Morse and his Sherlock? I started with The Jewel That Was Ours and enjoyed it enough to want to read more. I think Morse is a hoot. How he got as far in his career as he did is anyone's guess. He's a bit of lush and would never solve a single crime if it weren't for his sergeant.  Next I read Daughters of Cain and I will read more of them as long as I can find them and get them for free.

And that, my friends, is, as C.J. Craig used to say, a full lid.

 

June, 2022 Reads

 

YTD:  122 Books Read, 1196 Hours Spent
Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours

This Month: 20 Books Read, 178 Hours Spent

 

June is bustin' out all over...
 
Right. More song lyrics. Good thing I don't know any July or August songs.
 
It was a busy month and, much to my dismay, lots of things kept me from reading even more books this month. My computer has been acting up, so that has eaten up some reading time while I try to decide if it is time to take the damned thing out and shoot it! Meanwhile, more time spent trying to get it to work the way I want it to -- or even just to hibernate on command. Then I decided that I wanted to lead a "family tree" workshop for beginners. Since I have never done anything like it before, I had to figure out what it is exactly that would happen at this workshop and write the advertising for it. We start mid-July and run for 4 sessions. I just hope my computer is willing to cooperate for that long.
 
My biggest excuse for not reading was a family trip to see Great Nanny and Pop-Pop-Pop. DH and I went for 5 nights and the kids for 3 nights. OMG, I'm exhausted and need a vacation; we just got home today -- a few hours ahead of the holiday weekend rush. We decided not to attempt restaurant eating (I can't hear, the great-grandson can't sit that long and my mother can't do either of those two tasks), so there were meals to plan and execute. But it was worth every minute to have four generations at the dinner table for the first time since Thanksgiving, 2019.
 
Reading-wise, it was lots of mystery, as always, with some history and a couple of memoirs thrown in for good measure. Nothing spectacular but a couple of new finds that will keep me in books for a while, along with the series that I am already trying to work my way through. Many thanks to whoever it was introduced me to M.L. Longworth's Verlaque and Bonnet series set in Aix-en-Provence and its surroundings. It is fun when a book is set in a locale that you have visited.
 
There is no best or worst of the month for June. Nothing stood out one way or the other. It was a month of 3 or 4 star reads. No books were winged across the room as shrieked, "Life's too short!" I wonder what July will bring?
 

Dumb Witness  --  Agatha Christie  --  NEW91
The Heron's Cry  --  Ann Cleeves  --  NEW92
The Library Book  --  Susan Orlean   --  NEW93
Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle  --  Dorothy Gilman  --  NEW94
Spook Street --  Mike Herron  --  NEW95
Mountain Time  --  Ivan Doig  --  NEW96
Mystery Mile  --  Margery Allingham  --  NEW97
The Jewel That Was Ours  --  Colin Dexter  --  NEW98
Home Work  --  Julie Andrews --  NEW99
The Curse of La Fontaine  --  M.L. Longworth  --  NEW100
Great Courses: The Late Middle Ages  --  Steven Daileader  --  NEW101
Harbour Street  --  Ann Cleeves  --  NEW102
The Truth  --  Peter Grainger  --  NEW103
Death at the Chateau Bremont   --  M.L. Longworth   --  NEW104
Taste  --  Stanley Tucci  --  NEW105
The Confession  --  Charles Todd  --  NEW106
A Man Lay Dead  --  Ngaio Marsh  --  NEW107

The Tomb of the Chatelaine  --  Karen Baugh Menuhin  --  NEW108

 Dumb Witness -- Agatha Christie -- re-read

The Girls of Slender Means -- Muriel Spark -- NEW109

May, 2022 Reads

 

 

YTD:  102 Books Read, 1019 Hours Spent
Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours

This Month: 17 Books Read, 190 Hours Spent
 

 

 

 

“I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May.” – Smokey Robinson

For some strange reason, such as lack of an original thought, I decided to use a quote for the header this month. I found a website offering 100 quotes for me to choose from and started skimming. It was no contest. The background music to my high school years was Beatles and Motown and "My Girl" was top of the charts; they always bring a smile to my heart -- and a worm to my ear.

I can't believe just how quickly May flew by. I spent a good part of the month bingeing on Louise Penny and the rest of the month trying to figure out what I did want to read. My reads took me all over the place -- Canada, Wyoming, London, Japan, Morocco and even Cloud Cuckoo Land. I finished every book I started. I do note, however, that there was absolutely no non-fiction in the mix this month, not even a few lectures from the Egypt series I started back in February. All in all, it was a good month and I am looking forward to June, with absolutely no idea where my reading adventures will be taking me.

 

Favorite reads: The Bartender's Tale & The Lyre of Orpheus
Least favorite: Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish & The Library of the Unwritten

 

 

Cards on the Table --  Agatha Christie  --  NEW75
The Thin Man  --  Dashiell Hammett  --  Re-read
The Nature of the Beast  --  Louise Penny  --  NEW76
The Great Reckoning  --  Louise Penny  --  NEW77
Glass Houses  --  Louise Penny  --  NEW78
The Kingdom of the Blind  --  Louise Penny  --  NEW79
A Better Man  --  Louise Penny  --  NEW80
All the Devils Are Here  --  Louise Penny  --  NEW81
The Madness of Crowds  --  Louise Penny  --  NEW82
Mrs. Polifax and the Whirling Dervish  --  Dorothy Gilman  --  NEW83
The Library of the Unwritten  --  A.J. Hackwith  --  NEW84
Cloud Cuckoo Land  --  Anthony Doerr  --  NEW85
The Bartender's Tale  --  Ivan Doig  --  NEW86
The Anodyne Necklace   --  Martha Grimes  --  NEW87
The Cat Who Saved Books  --  Sosuke Natsukawa  --  NEW88
Tales from the Folly  --  Ben Aaronovitch  --  NEW89
The Lyre of Orpheus  --  Robertson Davies  --  NEW90

Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines: The Whole Series

 

By Louise Penny
Read by Ralph Cosham (Books 1-10) and Robert Bathurst (Books 11-17)
First book in the series was published in 2005. Book 18 is due for publication at the end of 2022

 

Audible Summary

 

A man of deep intellect, quiet  courage, and integrity, Québec Inspector Armand Gamache defies the  stereotype of a macho cop - brilliantly!

 
Chief Inspector  of the Surêté du Québec, Armand Gamache leads a team of investigators  in the Three Pines, a rural village south of Montreal rich in natural  beauty and eccentric residents. In this idyllic setting, Gamache is  continually challenged with baffling murders that demand the full force  of his deductive erudition, and insight into the individuals involved.  Whether taking place in a monastery, an art gallery, or the forest, each  mystery reveals more layers to the people of Three Pines, as well as  Inspector Gamache, his deputy Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and other series  regulars.

 
Author Louise Penny chose two brilliant narrators  to match her thoughtful detective. Ralph Cosham offers a deep reading of  Inspector Gamache, opening the hero’s mind, heart, and soul for  listeners to experience on a visceral level. As one avid listener  declares: “I don’t think I would ever be able to read Louise Penny’s  books as long as I can listen to the wonder Ralph Cosham narrate, since  he IS Inspector Gamache!” Robert Bathurst, Cosham’s successor after his  death, captures the complex personality of the perceptive Chief  Inspector, emphasizing his humanity, compassion, and wit along with his  erudition. Both narrators excel at character studies of the various  players in each case, from an elderly Anglo librarian to a spirited  nine-year-old boy.

 

"I don't know." "I need help." "I'm sorry." "I was wrong."

When I started reading this series (April, 2020), I was not in a rush to finish the series or even to read the books in order. I did start with book #1 and I fell in love with the book, the writing, the characters and the village of Three Pines.  I slowly started acquiring other entries in the series. Audible has them all but I was hoping to get as many as possible on sale, so it would be a slow, slow process. It became a lot easier when I rejoined the Boston Public Library. But, I was not in a rush because I so enjoyed the books that I had already read.

 

Suddenly, this April, I decided that this was one series that really had to be read in order.  The series has an over-arching storyline that is some ways is more important than the individual murders. So I went back not quite to the beginning and I read them all in order, one after another -- like a bag of M&Ms. And it had to be a binge so that I could keep the storyline fresh in my mind. By the time I reached  Book 17,  The Madness of Crowds, I decided that  I was tired of the hell that the author was putting her MC through. She used the same "Mighty Mouse" plot intrigue over and over again -- you know, "Here I am to save the day" -- to the point where it just no longer was plausible.  Mighty Mouse should have exited the scene with book 10 and after that, she needed to take the Gamache arc in an entirely different direction (just don't ask what it should have been, because if I had that answer, I would spend my time writing books, not reading them). 

I kept reading right through to the end of the series, for a couple of reasons. I like the author's writing style. The whole idea of this Brigadoon-like  village and refuge for injured souls is intriguing.  But, mostly, I think it is the secondary characters that keep me coming back, especially the quirky villagers.  These are people I enjoy spending time with, even if we are in the middle of solving yet another murder that somehow or another involves one or more of these people.

 

All that said, book 18 is due out in November. Still no title and no hint as to who will be narrating but I will be on the library wait-list just as soon as I find out it is taking names.

March, 2022 Reads

 

YTD:  63 Books Read, 618 Hours Spent
Goal: 100 books and 1500 hours
 
This Month: 21 Books Read, 222 Hours Spent

What a month! Not a single DNF and so many books that I was thrilled to have read. A big cash sale on Audible early in the month put a real dent in my wishlist; it was audiobooks at paperback prices. I still haven't made my way through that stack, but then again, I'm not rushing because I want the bounty to last. The only thing that is suffering is my annual re-read list. Between Audible Plus and library loans -- and with a little help from my friends, I am finding plenty of new books to read.

Most Exciting Books of the Month

 

 

The Duds

 

 

 

 

Gaudy Night  --  Dorothy L. Sayers  --  NEW37
The ABC Murders  --  Agatha Christie  --  NEW38
The Little Sister  --  Raymond Chandler  --  NEW39
Great Courses: 1066: The Year That Changed Everything  --  Jennifer Paxton   --  NEW40
Carrying the Fire  --  Michael Collins  --  NEW41
The Wintringham Mystery  --  Anthony Berkeley  --  NEW42
Of Mutts and Men  --  Spencer Quinn  --  NEW43
The Man Who Died Twice  --  Richard Osman  --  NEW44
A Shilling for Candles  --  Josephine Tey NEW45
The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden  --  Kate Saunders  --  NEW46
Most Secret  --  Nevil Shute  --  NEW47
Roxanne  --  Peter Grainger  --  NEW48
The Joy of X  --  Steven Strogatz  --  NEW49
Loitering with Intent  --  Muriel Spark  --  NEW50
A False Mirror  --  Charles Todd  --  NEW51
Money  --  Jacob Goldstein  --  NEW52
Becoming  --  Michelle Obama  --  NEW53
All About Me  --  Mel Brooks  --  NEW54
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe  --  Heather Webber  --  NEW55
The Circle  --  Peter Lovesey  --  NEW56
A Cold Treachery  --  Charles Todd  --  NEW57

Last Bus to Wisdom

By: Ivan Doig 

Narrated by: David Aaron Baker

Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins

 

 

 

Publisher's Summary

The final novel from a great American storyteller. Donal Cameron is being raised by his grandmother, the cook at the legendary Double W ranch in Ivan Doig's beloved Two Medicine Country of the Montana Rockies, a landscape that gives full rein to an 11-year-old's imagination. But when Gram has to have surgery for "female trouble" in the summer of 1951, all she can think to do is to ship Donal off to her sister in faraway Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There Donal is in for a rude surprise: Aunt Kate - bossy, opinionated, argumentative, and tyrannical - is nothing like her sister. She henpecks her good-natured husband, Herman the German, and Donal can't seem to get on her good side either. After one contretemps too many, Kate packs him back to the authorities in Montana on the next Greyhound. But as it turns out, Donal isn't traveling solo: Herman the German has decided to fly the coop with him. In the immortal American tradition, the pair light out for the territory together, meeting a classic Doigian ensemble of characters and having rollicking misadventures along the way. Charming, wise, and slyly funny, Last Bus to Wisdom is a last sweet gift from a writer whose books have bestowed untold pleasure on countless people.
©2015 Ivan Doig (P)2015 Recorded Books

 

Reminds me of Jean Shepard

A few years ago, I saw this book in an Audible sale pile and didn't buy it. I regretted the decision. Then recently, it made another appearance on the sales rack and I bought it. I am so glad I did.

As I was listening to the book, it slowly dawned on me that the storytelling reminded me a lot of a 60s &70s NY radio talk show host named Jean Shepard. There was something about the sound of the narrator's voice and the cadence of the prose that shouted "Jean Shepard." He was a raconteur par excellence and told a lot of stories about his childhood, which are all described as "semi-autobiographical." Probably his mostly widely known piece of work was the 1983 film A Christmas Story, which was adapted from his stories. However, Shep holds a place in my heart because in 1968 he stood on the stage of my high school auditorium with a microphone in his hand, and the principal in the front row, and unmistakably uttered the word "fuck" --and even more miraculously he was permitted to continue his monologue. The times, they were most definitely a-changin'.

But I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about the book I just read, not old memories. I loved the book and I want to read more by Ivan Doig. If I am going to read a coming of age story, this is the way I want it to sound -- youth as a carefree adventure, sweet and old-fashioned.

Four stars and I love the cover.

P.S. I also like the pun in the title. This was Doig's last book and  these were his parting thoughts.

Taking Out the Trash: March Edition

My thoughts in a sentence or two on a whole slew of books that I have read but not yet commented on. These are all audiobooks and none of them is really trash; it is just that I am a fan of The West Wing and taking out the trash was their office code word for dealing with the little things that keep getting pushed to the bottom of the priority list.

 

Queen Victoria's Matchmaking

by Debora Cadbury

Interesting. Victoria & Albert's plan to unite Europe through strategic marriage was an utter failure. It failed to account for the personalities involved. Three and a half stars

 

---

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers

I got lost somewhere a long the way. Three stars

 

 

---

Gaudy Night

by Dorothy L. Sayers

It was an interesting glimpse into university life, a world I know nothing about, but it dragged. Three and half stars

---

 

A Shilling for Candles

by Josephine Tey

Disappointing and I don't know why. Three stars

 

Memoir Marathon Weekend

 

I just spent a delightful weekend with two amazing people: Michelle Obama and Mel Brooks.

I know it sounds like a weird combination but it was just luck of the draw -- and the timing of holds. I am so glad that we had nothing planned for the weekend and that DH was caught up in March Madness so that I could pretty much read undisturbed for the whole weekend, although I will admit that DH yelled down from the loft at regular intervals to ask if there was anything I wanted him to do to help with the housecleaning that I was doing while I listened to my books. I kept telling him, "No." He lucked out because I didn't want to stop reading to tell him what needed doing.

My only criticism of both books is that they would have benefited by more judicious editing; they both dragged a bit. 

 

 

 

Publisher's Summary

 
In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As first lady of the United States of America - the first African American to serve in that role - she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the US and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations - and whose story inspires us to do the same.
©2018 Michelle Obama (P)2018 Random House Audio

 

 

Publisher's Summary

All About Me! charts Mel Brooks’ meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Whether serving in the United States Army in World War II, or during his burgeoning career as a teenage comedian in the Catskills, Mel was always mining his experiences for material, always looking for the perfect joke. His iconic career began with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, where he was part of the greatest writers’ room in history, which included Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart. After co-creating both the mega-hit "2000 Year Old Man" comedy albums and the classic television series Get Smart, Brooks’ stellar film career took off. He would go on to write, direct, and star in The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs, as well as produce groundbreaking and eclectic films including The Elephant Man, The Fly, and My Favorite Year. Brooks then went on to conquer Broadway with his record-breaking, Tony-winning musical, The Producers.

All About Me! offers fans insight into the inspiration behind the ideas for his outstanding collection of boundary-breaking work, and offers details about the many close friendships and collaborations Brooks had, including those with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, Alfred Hitchcock, and the great love of his life, Anne Bancroft.
Filled with tales of struggle, achievement, and camaraderie, listeners will gain a more personal and deeper understanding of the incredible body of work behind one of the most accomplished and beloved entertainers in history.
©2021 Mel Brooks (P)2021 Random House Audio