What are you reading the week of March 9, 2019?

Finally found time to finish Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization, which was a little dated, but still very good.

I've started The Sunlight Dialogues by John Gardner. This has been on my TBR pile for a very long time. I haven't read many of his books, but the ones I have read were all excellent. The wedding party scene from Nickel Mountain is still one of the loveliest things that I've ever read.

Happy Saturday, and thanks for starting us out Fred. Have fun with your namesake lawman.

Murmur is short and not at all easy to read. Turing was treated abominably.

Continuing to enjoy this OverDrive audiobook ~

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
(Hagenheim Castle Series, Book 1/reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale/Germany/historical fiction/Christian YA)

and

Country Living and Country magazines via OverDrive

I finished Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, a bright and breezy (despite some unpleasant moments) reminiscence by a 85 year old plucky verbally adroit lady while walking her beloved streets of New York City.. It's a celebration of city walking as much as it is of a life. It is closely aligned with the life of Macy advertiser and poet, Margaret Fishback.

>4 snash: Lillian was my favorite novel of 2018. I met the author and she is just as delightful. I get happy anytime I see someone reading this novel.

I've got less than 100 pages to go in The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden. I'm both excited to see how the trilogy ends and sad to see it end!

Greetings, all. I tried to read Night Sins by Tami Hoag, but the writing style didn't appeal to me so I let it go after about 45 pages. I was still in the mood for genre fiction, however, so I've now started Slingshot, the third book in Matthew Dunn's "Spycatcher" series. I enjoyed the first two entries and so far liking this book as well.

>4 snash: >5 alphaorder: Have added Lillian to my Amazon wish list.

I've been too distracted this week to do much reading. I'm still winding my way through Voss by Patrick White, which is lovely.

Still reading Alliance Rising, The Neutronium Alchemist, N or M?, Shogun, and Python Programming: A Step By Step Guide From Beginner To Expert.

300 Days Of Sun – Deborah Lawrenson
3***

Journalist Joanna Millard goes to Faro, Portugal to escape a relationship and a career that are both going nowhere. She meets Nathan Emberlin in a language class and is charmed by the younger man and his easy manner. But Nathan confides that he is really interested in a decades old child kidnapping, and Joanna gets caught up in helping him. Soon they are in danger of coming afoul of the criminal element and powerful political influences.

This started out slowly but picked up steam as small revelations led to bigger discoveries. A significant clue is a 1954 novel written by Esta Hartford, that purportedly described true events during World War II, though the names of the main characters were changed. Lawrenson interrupts Joanna and Nathan’s story arc to give the reader Hartford’s novel. I found this technique of parallel story lines interesting but sometimes jarring. Still, this technique kept this reader in some suspense and turning pages, as slowly pieces fell into place. I virtually flew the last 100 pages.

Others have commented on Lawrenson’s ability to bring the landscape and culture of Portugal alive, and I have to agree with those reviewers. I’ve been to Portugal and found Lawrenson’s descriptions vivid and true to my own memories.

FYI

Apparently The Mueller Report is being published by the Washington Post later this month. This morning I found it listed in my library system's OverDrive app and I clicked on RECOMMEND to reserve a copy of the eBook when they purchase copies of it. Amazon and B&N also have the book listed.

Started this library audiobook ~

Pandemic by Robin Cook

(latest in the Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery series/is a virus going to shut down NYC?/medical, political and media issues/cautionary tale)

Finished The Secret Woman in the watches of the night. It was very enjoyable, though I had worked out much (not all) of the puzzle by the reveal, and to my mind the heroine ended up with the wrong man. Then again, had I read this book thirty-five or forty years ago, my view might well have been different.

Currently have several books on the go, most immediately The Age of Science: What Scientists Learned in the Twentieth Century by Gerard Piel and a reread of Asimov's Guide to Science. Can't work out how to make the touchstone show the one volume edition, which is what I have.

Currently rereading the entire Gabaldon Outlander series with a friend. We are on The Fiery Cross. I am surprised at how my perspective has changed since first reading. It also has me taking off and reading fiction, non-fiction, and travel on Scotland.

Finished N or M? and started By the Pricking of My Thumbs.

>4 snash: Oh I must read that!

>4 snash:, >5 alphaorder: I just read Lillian Boxfish last month and loved it, too!

I’m reading three books and so not finishing anything soon. They’re all good though - My Ranch, Too a memoir by Mary Budd Flitner, The Mother Of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit, and A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd.

>15 seitherin: Ah, two favorites, especially By the Pricking of My Thumbs. It's really hard to beat Christie for an old friend type book.

My sister and I share an Audible account, which makes for some interesting juxtapositions in the library, but that's another story. Anyhow, she asked me to buy Ghostly Paws by Leighann Dobbs. I did so, downloaded and started listening to it earlier this evening. It's just shy of six hours, so I'll probably finish it tonight. Quite enjoyable, if you like cats, ghosts and small, slightly eccentric New England towns, which I do.

Started The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams, a memoir about the late author's battle with cancer which she lost her life to almost a year ago.

>18 Catreona: I'm on an Agatha Christie binge at the moment. She is my go to author when I just can't bring myself to read much of anything else.

I've finished By the Pricking of My Thumbs and I'm about to start Evil Under the Sun.

>12 Molly3028: What's Overdrive?

Finished Ghost Paws, which I enjoyed. Now listening to another first of series I downloaded from Audible over the weekend, Murder She Barked by Krista Davis. So far, so good, but I'm looking forward to getting back to Mystic Notch. It's much more my kind of place than Wagtail.

Finished listening to Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli.

Next up for listening is We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories From Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch.

>22 Catreona:

OverDrive (Libby) is a digital service many libraries in the US partner with. It provides free borrowing of eBooks, audiobooks, videos and magazines to library patrons. Similar services exist at most libraries now.

Both of my current reads are terrific.

Audio: THe Fall of Wisconsin
Print: The Atlas of Reds and Blues

I finally finished my bedtime read: The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton. Only took me 2 1/2 months. Next up is the last book in that trilogy, The Naked God. I expect it to take my longer to read since it has more pages.

I just started You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore to coincide with a trip to San Francisco. I figured out after I started that I should have read Bloodsucking Fiends first, but I don't feel lost so on I go.

I've switched briefly to my e-reader as I'm going on holiday for a week on Thursday. As I'm surrounded by lists of things to pack, and an open suitcase and to-do lists, I'm reading an old favourite again - Jane Eyre - to help me stay sane. Such a wonderful book - I'd forgotten how much I love it.

I finished William Trevor's Last Stories -- beautiful, haunting. Next up: A. M. Homes's story collection, Days of Awe

>25 Molly3028: Thanks. Sounds like a great service.

>29 ahef1963: It always puzzles me when people can't understand rereading a favorite book or rewatching a favorite movie. Not only do you often find something new, but often as you say it's the only way to stay sane.

Have a nice holiday.

>32 Catreona: I don't understand it either. I have literally worn some books out from re-use during difficult times in my life, or during week-long viruses (before there were flu shots), or on vacation, so I was bringing a little of home with me on holiday. Pride and Prejudice, Neverwhere, The Chronicles of Narnia, and as a child, the Little House on the Prairie books have seen me through practically everything. What do you re-read?

Setting aside the troubling and, unfortunately, somewhat boring audio version of We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories From Rwanda . Thought provoking.

Next up for listening is Serena by Ron Rash.

Finished Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie. Taking a small break from murder to tackle a short by Scott Lynch: The Effigy Engine.

Sometimes you just need some good, escapist reading, and Slingshot, the third novel in Matthew Dunn's "Spycatcher" series, filled the bill for me. Will Cochrane is the, of course, super-skilled, super-competent M16 operative and leader of a super-secret combined team of M16 and CIA agents who are assigned only the toughest, unbeknownst to the world crises to handle. They leave bodies in their wakes, of course. Waddaya gonna do? It's a tough world out there. These books are fun if you like this sort of thing (obviously, I do). The plotting is pretty good and the seemingly endemic genre-fiction overuse of cliche and clunky metaphors is kept pretty much to a minimum. Cochrane's character even gets a mild dollop of depth applied to him. For now, I'm not going to make a point of reading the two remaining "Spycatcher" novels, but someday I might change my mind about that.

Next for me will be Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, a Booker Prize winner from the late 1980s that has escaped my attention until now.

>33 ahef1963: Only discovered Neverwhere this winter, but it probably will go on the Favorites to Be Reread list.

As a child before losing my eyesight, I read and reread a few favorites: The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen. These were in individual, beautifully illustrated editions. There was a third book too, think it was The Ugly Duckling. Sarah Crew aka A Little Princess, two of the Hardy Boys books, The Missing Chum and What Happened at Midnight, The Wind in the Willows and The Happy Holisters also being ones I remember rereading most often. Sarah Crew and The Happy Holisters were paperbacks, and though I took good care of my books, they did get a touch worn. Once I started getting Talking Books, it wasn't quite as easy to reread at will, though I did read Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner a few times. Really should pick those up again. It's been about fifty years. A few years ago I reread The Wind in the Willows and A Little Princess and loved them both as much as when I was very little. Edith Nesbit's The Enchanted Castle is another childhood favorite I reread, remembered and loved just as much as an adult.

When I was about ten, I started a life long devotion to The Hobbit, though I didn't first read The Lord of the Rings and The Simarillion till my early twenties. I can't count how many times I've read these. Though I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe more than once before losing my sight, it wasn't for a few years, maybe at ten or so, that I discovered and fell in love with the rest of the Narnia books. Again, no idea how many times I've read them through the years. As an adult, I've read The Screwtape Letters (or rather listened to it read by John Cleese)and Till We Have Faces several times. Also some of Lewis' nonfiction. The Problem of Pain is particularly helpful and the Blackstone cassettes are well worn. I also love the Space trilogy, especially the first two books, Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra. Actually wore out the cassettes for Perelandra. Must download it if it's on Audible.

The Problem of Pain reminded me, I've read The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius about half a dozen times. It truly is consoling.

I've read most of Agatha Christie's novels at least once, most multiple times. In recent years, my go to mystery author has been Dick Francis though. Rat Race and Enquiry are my favorites, that is to say, most often read.

Can't remember how often I've read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and Life, the Universe and Everything,though So Long and Thanks for All the Fish and Mostly Harmless not quite as often. Nor can I remember how often I've read Bleak House, my favorite Dickens.

Curiously, Asimov on Physics and Asimov on Astronomy have become comfort rereads, especially the latter.

And I forgot Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, which are definitely favorites. I've also read Agnus Grey and The Pennant of Wildfell Hall a couple times each. My favorite Austen is Persuasion, though I've read Pride and Prejudice. Emma and Northanger Abbey a few times each as well. Have only read Mansfield Park a couple of times. In my late teens I tried to read Sense and Sensibility but hated it. A couple of years ago I tried it again, with considerably more luck, but it's still my least favorite Austen.

I could go on and on. If I like a book, I usually reread it at least once. In one of the essays in Asimov's Galaxy (can't remember which one), he talks about the importance and pleasure of rereading. So, I reckon, if it was good enough for Isaac Asimov, it's good enough for me.

>34 hemlokgang: thats too bad, because its a powerful book. If you can, either read it, or find another reader.

>37Can't remember how often I've read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and Life, the Universe and Everything

Yep, to the point when I will sometimes quote a part of it in a relevant situation. Fortunately there are people who know what I am talkig about!

The Good Omens is another one, reallly an annual read for me anymore Cant wait for the series to come out!

>34 hemlokgang: >38 cindydavid4: I remember reading We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda about 10 years ago, so I looked up my old notes. I also remember that I didn't appreciate the book as much as I anticipated. I can't use the word "enjoy" because there is no way to enjoy reading about genocide. At the end of my notes, I gave the reason for not rating the book as highly as I expected I would:

The reasons I didn't give the book more stars are because I really wanted to hear more of the people's stories and because the history was given in a rather jumbled manner. Nevertheless, I highly recommend reading the book.

Finished The Effigy Engine by Scott Lynch and reading his In the Stacks next.

A Year in Provence – Peter Mayle
4****

This is a re-read and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time I read it back in 2001. What a delightful diversion! Mayle's account of his and his wife's first year owning a house in Provence is entertaining, relaxing and inspiring. I love the way he accepts his status as an outsider but tries to understand and join in with the local traditions. A few of these characters are definitely memorable, including his plumber Menicucci, neighbors Faustin and Henriette, and the colorful Massot, who lives alone in a ramshackle mountain cabin with his trio of vicious dogs and feels proprietary about the national forest.

As they stumble from one catastrophe to another during the remodeling of their home, they still manage to find humor in most situations (almost anything is helped with another bottle of wine) and enjoy life in the surrounding villages. I loved his descriptions of the many extraordinary meals, the shops, markets and scenery. I could practically hear the bay of hounds on the hunt, smell the enticing aromas of butter, garlic and truffles, and feel the sunshine on my face. The book inspires me to enjoy life - good food, good wine and the siesta.

I’ve read many more of his books since first reading this one, including a couple of his novels. There are a few that I haven’t read and I’ll definitely add them to my TBR, and I may have to revisit some of those I’ve previously read. I will miss Mayle’s writing, now that he has passed away.

Midnight At the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Matthew Sullivan
3.5***

From the book jacket: Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the Book Frogs – the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store’s overwhelmed shelves. But when Joey Molina kills himself in the bookstore’s upper room, Lydia’s life comes unglued. Lydia is bequeathed Joey’s meager worldly possessions. When Lydia flips through his books, she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?

My reactions
A puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a mystery. Sullivan’s novel kept me guessing and off balance. There were some very interesting twists and I liked the way he created the “puzzle of Joey’s books.” However, as the jacket blurb might indicate, I found it somewhat overwritten.

It took me some time to get really caught up in the story because it was so fractured at the beginning. The multiple puzzles and flashbacks to Lydia’s youth and the horrific events surrounding “The Hammerman” had me so off balance that I kept wondering where this was going. Granted, that these are lost people; not just Joey and the other Book Frogs, but Lydia and her fellow booksellers also seemed rather lost. I never really got much of a good feel for Lydia and for what drove her away from her father. It seemed to me that the trauma of her youth would drive them together more than apart.

Still, Sullivan’s inventive narrative did eventually capture my attention and kept me turning pages. And while it took me longer than usual to get truly wrapped up in the story – especially for a mystery/thriller – eventually I was staying up late to finish.

Ultimately, I think it’s a better than average mystery thriller, and I’m looking forward to my F2F book club discussion.

Enjoying this OverDrive audiobook ~

Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers by Lisa Kleypas

(romantic historical fiction ~ England, about 1880/wedding get-together)

Finished In the Stacks by Scott Lynch. Liked it.

Next into my rotation is Bless Me, Father by Neil Boyd.

Finished reading Lonesome Dove last night and am still in one of those wonderful book dazes you get after reading an excellent book.

Finished Python Programming: A Step By Step Guide From Beginner To Expert by Anthony Brun. Poorly edited and formatted book.

>3 Molly3028:
I've read and own all the novels in the "Hagenheim Castle" series published so far. The latest and #9 installment The Warrior Maiden was released last month. Dickerson also wrote the "Medieval Fairy Tale" trilogy directed at an older audience and "Regency Spies of London" trilogy.

Current read: Deathcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
#4 and final novel in the "Shattered Realms" series. It's been as good as her earlier "Seven Realms" series!

>48 princessgarnet:

I plan to continue listening to the "Hagenheim Castle" series. I enjoyed listening to The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale) last year.

West by Carys Davies has lovely writing in it.

The new thread is up over here.

>25 Molly3028: FYI, Overdrive is not free. Your local library pays for access to those titles. Libby (the app to read the books from Overdrive) is free.

>3 Molly3028: The next "Hagenheim Castle" novel, The Piper's Pursuit will be released in December 2019. The new novel will focus on the youngest son.

>52 lesmel:
OK. Our state taxes and charitable people support the library systems.
The libraries "partner with" OverDrive and patrons enjoy borrowing free audiobooks, etc.

>53 princessgarnet:
Thanks for the heads up. I will add it to my list. I will get to that one in a couple of years.

>54 Molly3028: I read your comment to mean the borrowing was free for patrons. I think most of us know libraries don't often get media free, no matter the format, but paying for libraries and their contents are causes I'm glad my taxes support. And I get more than my money's worth from them. I wish more people utilized them.

>55 TooBusyReading:

I agree. I support my local library and the system it is part of, and I enjoying borrowing well over 100 items each year. The cost-benefit ratio is outstanding!