Wednesday April 10, 2024 -- Books & More...
THOUGHTS
WooHoo! Taxes are done, ready to be sent off.
Otherwise, I am just too busy to think, let alone write about what I am (not) thinking about.
TICKETS
Sunday can't come soon enough! Twelfth Night!!
READING MY HORDE
As it turns out, everything I read this week was from 'the horde' putting me at 39 books so far this year. It wasn't anything intentional, it is just the way the week worked out.
AT THE LIBRARY
Still waiting patiently.
THE BOOKS
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
A pre-travel, scene-setting read. Another look at the Blitz. More focused on the players than the events. A long but easy read.
3.5 stars
This House of Sky by Ivan Doig
DNF. I've read a couple by Doig and really enjoyed them. I could not get into this one. There was something about his language and the overwrought descriptions that drove me bonkers.
No rating
The Night at the Crossroads by Georges Simenon
This was written in the first year he published; one of 10 books he published that year. Yes, he cranked them out like sausage but that doesn't bother me. They are a quick read when I don't feel like anything else and I like his tales. Simenon found his niche, his style and his character and he stuck with it.
3.5 stars
Murder at the Museum by Simon Brett
The more I read Simon Brett, the more I want to read more Simon Brett. Good thing he has a large back catalog. Sorry it isn't all available on audio. I continue to enjoy his sense humor and the way he has perfected the art of not letting the humor pull the reader's attention away from the story. He just drops his little bombs and keeps going; he doesn't hang around to make sure that you got the joke or the commentary.
3.75 stars
Mrs. Pargeter's Principle by Simon Brett
This is the first that I have read of the Mrs. Pargeter series. Unfortunately, books 1 -6 are not available on Audible or the library, so I had to jump into to the middle of the series. I hope that eventually I get to hear the whole series. Yes, the humor continues, as unobtrusive as ever.
Simon Brett narrates this series. He is an exception to the rule, an author who knows how to narrate a book and sounds good doing it. Give me more.
3.5stars
THOUGHTS
Nothing doing. I am patiently waiting my turn. Nothing expected until June -- but watch, something is going to be delivered while we are away and I won't have time or inclination to read it!
Same plot structure as before. First person narrator, author of true crime stories in which he ends up involved in the events of which he is writing while laid up from injuries sustained. Fourth wall completely shattered (could we call this 2nd person narrative??). Before you pick this one up, get your hands on The Detection Club Decalogue (https://murder-mayhem.com/the-detection-club-rules) and VanDine's Twenty Rules (http://gaslight-lit.s3-website.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/gaslight/vandine.htm ) because Stevenson references them frequently. Keep in mind that Van Dine is deadly serious about his rules, while the DCD (mostly written by Ronald Knox) is somewhat tongue in cheek (The Detection Club members knew how to have fun).
I found a new recording of this title and decided to give it a try. It does make a difference but one I'm not sure that I like; maybe I've listen to the Cornelius Garrett recording so much that it is set in my brain. No, I don't think so. I think that this is the story of a 45 year old man and that it needs to be read by a man, not an ingenue. Avon is dark and menacing and the voice of a young female narrator is not.
Wow!
This is the sequel to These Old Shades and is about the dissolute son of Avon. It is more romantic fantasy from a naive young woman, although by this time she has been married for 7 years. Nonetheless, I do ever so enjoy reading these two books, over and over again. BTW, awful cover. They look middle-aged and seasick.
After his wife died in 2000, Dick Francis stopped writing. His books were a collaborative effort with his wife even though published under the name of Dick Francis. In 2006, the first of 5 books written in collaboration with his son Felix was published. Crossfire was the last they would write together. It is one of the better tales to come out of the father-son collaboration.
I found it had a dreadfully slow start -- but a whiz bang finish. I might even read it again before the month is out.
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.
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.
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. 
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.
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. 
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).
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.
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.
This is the first year since the Agatha Centenary read started that I have actually kicked off the year with an Agatha; it felt good! I have to admit that I did not see this one coming at all; it just never crossed my mind. I enjoyed it very much.
Surface science for non-scientists. Just my speed. I might even have learned something in the process.
Book three of Brett's first series of mystery novel, published in 1977. MC Charles Paris is an actor who has a side line in amateur sleuthing. Wow, has Brett come a long way since he wrote the Charles Paris series, which isn't bad at all. I'm glad he kept at it -- and so will I.
I hated that Lovesey killed off Diamond's wife but I loved the book. I loved the way Lovesey treated Diamond's grief and mourning without being maudlin. I loved the dead-ends and the twists and turns of the plot. Very devious, Mr. Lovesey, very devious.
I can't remember how this one ended up on my wish list. I love the cover but it did not take very long to realize that this one really is not for me. I don't like books where the set up involves putting the innocent MC into a lose-lose situation thus forcing him to do something he absolutely does not want to do. I find it too damned frustrating. However, I do think that there are a few folks here who might actually enjoy this one.
What can I say? It is a Perry Mason story. File it under "necessary roughage"and let's move on.
One of the joys of living where we do is the little art museum down the street. They bring in some pretty amazing exhibits such as the one that is currently there of Rembrandt's etchings. We finally made time to see the exhibition -- and I plan to go back once more before it leaves in the middle of February to take more pictures. Most of what is on display is from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and all but 10 works are by Rembrandt; the remainder are works from those who inspired and were inspired by him..jpg)
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How did I not love thee? Let me count the ways. DD1 recommended this one to me. I put a hold on it immediately, sight unseen, and it arrived while I was in Philly, trying to read The Hollow Man. Even having read up on the book would not have prepared me for what I found.
Necessary Roughage!! Westlake is not great literature but he sure is a lot of fun to read.
Sorry, Michael, this one just didn't do it for me. Some of my problem was the ornate language you tried to employ, trying to give it an old world feel. That didn't work well and it was distracting. The start was rocky, too. I like the "Jews with swords" idea but you lost me at the start and I never found my way back. 
I love Scalzi best when his tongue is firmly in his cheek -- and read to me by Wesley Crusher. In other words, I enjoyed this one but really have nothing specific to say about it --other than I love how the cover gives nothing away. 
Hard-boiled detective fiction. Very well written, especially the creative cussing. There was no way that Himes could have used what was actually being used on the street and get published -- and even the language he did use was pushing it in 1964. I enjoyed the book very much but it isn't quite light reading. 
Locked room mystery. I had trouble with this one. I couldn't keep the characters straight and I'm still not sure of the 'howdunit.' Still, I really enjoyed the story and will throw this one back on TBR to re-read at a later date so I can catch what I missed the first go round.
A great way to end the year!