What Fiction are you reading this week, Sept. 27, 2020?

[hermetic]

I am reading my first Joe Grey mystery, Cat on the Edge by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. This is a different type of mystery but well-written and full of suspense. Ahh, to be a cat...

Listening to The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers. I got this CD at the library thinking that it would be someone reading the book. Turns out it is the soundtrack to the Lord Peter Wimsey TV show from BBC. I recognized Ian Carmichael's voice right away. It's still enjoyable, full of witty quips. And I actually get to hear the church bells ringing in the new year. So lovely. I would like to read the book, though, as many say it is Sayers' finest literary achievement.

What are you reading this week?

[MaryMagdaline]

1. The Book Shop and The Water Dancer

[hermetic]

4. Is that one book or two?

Just kidding.

Is The Water Dancer the new book by Ta-Nehisi Coates? Sounds great: "a propulsive, transcendent work."
Who wrote the other one? There's like 100 books called The Book Shop. Okay, so not 100 but quite a few. You know how curious we are here about that sort of stuff...

[MaryMagdaline]

9. The Book Shop is Penelope Fitzgerald

And yes, The Water Dancer is Coates.

[Bobstandard]

2. The Red Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard

Crackerjack story by an American prose master that shows off the authors understanding of and sympathy for ordinary Americans

[hermetic]

5. Nice!

Thanks.

[exboyfil]

3. Ash Wednesday by Chet Williamson

on Audiobook and The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice on ebook.

Ash Wednesday is an unusual ghost story.
The Heavens Rise is a tale of revenge.

Working towards my goal of completing nearly all the Stoker Award winners and nominees in the Novel category. I am at 99 out of 158.

[hermetic]

7. Wow, that is awesome

I will definitely take a look at those two. Thanks.

[murielm99]

14. I haven't read a Christopher Rice book in ages!

Thanks for the reminder.

[Midnight Writer]

28. Chet Williamson is one of those authors I always check for in used book stores.

Hard to find his stuff, but I enjoy it when I find it.

[bif]

6. I was reading "The Shipping News" but gave up halfway through

Not sure what I'm going to read next.

[MaryMagdaline]

10. I had to give up on that one, too

I was reading it when my husband had surgery years ago and even then in surgical waiting room, it could not hold my attention

[hermetic]

11. It's interesting

that such a major award winner only gets a two-star rating now. On the other hand, Annie Proulx's latest, Barkskins, is getting five stars. "An epic, dazzling, violent, magnificently dramatic novel about the taking down of the world." Maybe you would like that one better.

[murielm99]

15. I loved

Barkskins. It has inspired me to plant a few more trees on our property.

I am still reading The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel. It is a book that takes time. This is the third book in her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell.

Mantel is the most witty and intelligent author I have read in a long time. She is worth the effort.

This series has been made into a popular television series in Britain. It is called "Wolf Hall." People are always interested in Henry VIII.

[hermetic]

22. I am still waiting in line for my

first Wolf Hall novel to come back to the library, and really looking forward to it. It could be the first week of Oct., not that far off.

I have always been interested in old Henry. Maybe not so much him as his wives and all the political things going on at the time.

[northoftheborder]

8. Finishing the last of the "Woodside" series, by Mary Kinswood.

Edwardian romance, murder mystery, cultural themes of the times. Light, but interesting plots.

My audio book just finished, David Baldacci's "The Innocent".

[hermetic]

13. I really enjoy

Baldacci's books. He truly is "one of the world's favorite storytellers." The Innocent sounds pretty intense. Cold-blooded killers after a 14-yr-old girl. Yikes!

A little light reading alongside sounds like a good idea.

[The King of Prussia]

12. Still on "Death In Disguise" by Caroline Graham

Finding it very slow.

I read "The Nine Tailors" many decades ago and loved it. Tried again recently and gave up on it - far too much description of bell peels. I did read "Murder Must Advertise" recently and really enjoyed it.

Our workshy, lying, racist leaders have totally lost control of the virus situation. Looks like we will be under restrictions until March. Autumn and winter are going to be grim.

[murielm99]

16. Yes, it will be grim.

I would like to go to a couple of election watch gatherings. I am not sure if it is safe.

[hermetic]

19. Yes indeed

I just bought myself a couple of new masks and will start stocking up on tissue paper again. Sadly I expect a whole lot more people are going to die this time, though. Well, at least we shall be reading a lot of books.

One of the things I liked about The Nine Tailors was who done it. I was wondering if that might be the first time that solution was used in a mystery.

I thought Ms. Graham's stories would be interesting. That one is described: splendid fodder for gossip, prompting speculation of arcane rituals and bizarre sexual practices. But with the murder of the commune's leaders, the rumor-mill goes into overdrive. It's the most exciting thing to happen in Compton Dando since three boys burned down the bus shelter.

[Polly Hennessey]

25. I tried reading Caroline Graham. Too involved and

plodding for my taste. I am now reading: The Junkyard Man by Libby Howard. Easy, short, fun. Perfect for a Sunday.

[OhNo-Really]

17. Enjoying Free E & Free Audio Books Using Free LIBBY App

Free LIBBY App available to anyone with a library card.

So am enjoying Reading & listening- Two books For free.

Re-Reading “On a Pale Horse” by Piers Anthony- Book 1 of 8 in a SciFi series Incarnations of Immortality. 1st read 40 years ago 😳

And listening to “The Art of Hearing Heartbeats (warm, complicated story/mystery about a Burmese boy who loses his sight)

So grateful my friend told me about the free LIBBY app. If you have a library card you can apply for Fairfax card here

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/non-resident-library-card-application

Audio Books are fun while doing puzzles, chores, zoning out of this messed up world.

I HIGHLY recommend this free app that enables you to access e & audio books from the your library. I also bought a library card from Fairfax County Virginia because it’s wonderful ($27/year) My local library seems to buy one copy so always a wait. Fairfax not so much

LIBBY Free app

Link to tweet

I ❤️ Libby.

[hermetic]

20. That is great info

Thanks so much!

[OhNo-Really]

23. You're welcome. LIBBY rescued this isolated old lady.

I donated my Library when I downsized and didn’t want to pay for books I couldn’t judge or read the index before buying or renting

Rachel’s books are available as are most of the newly released bombshells. A bit of a wait but not too bad from Fairfax

[broiles]

18. Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves

A Shetland mystery.

[hermetic]

21. Sounds like a really good

atmospheric kind of mystery. I look forward to reading it.

[The King of Prussia]

26. In my opinion Ann Cleeves

is just about the best writing in the genre right now. I'm rationing myself on the 'Shetland" series because they are so good.

[TexasProgresive]

24. "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke

It is fairly modern but reads like from the time it takes place. I began “The Man in Lower Ten” by Mary Richards Rinehart as an eBook but there were just too many errors by the OCR. I was having a lot of trouble making sense of it. Constantly lost the thread.

[hermetic]

27. Oh neat!

Tales of magic and they were made into a BBC mini series in 2015. Best of all, my library has the CD! I love when I find new stuff to watch.

Did you know Rinehart is said to have originated the line "the butler did it"? I've read some of her books but long ago. I don't recall that one in particular. Oh, I see now that was her first novel. Sorry to hear about your technical difficulties.

[TexasProgresive]

32. Thanks I think I only read one Rinehart story

The curve of the catenary. It was a novella that my Mom had. It must've been 50 years ago. The 9 Taylors made be think of it. Copies of Catenary are rare and pricey.

[Staph]

29. The last of James Clavell's Asian Saga - Whirlwind

It takes place in Iran after the Shah leaves, as Ayatollah Khomeini takes over, before the American hostage crisis. The viewpoint characters are owners and employees of an Anglo-Iranian helicopter company that flies supplies and personnel to oil rigs and timber camps. And as with his other books, there are characters and descendants of characters from the previous books.

It's interesting to read the British viewpoint of the fall of the Shah. Clavell, through his British, European and Japanese characters puts the blame on President Carter. Clavell seems to have been a free trade capitalist, with just a touch of libertarianism.

I will have to do some research after I finish to remember what really happened.

[hermetic]

30. You did find that one then

Sounds interesting. I don't have any recollection of those events. I was the single mother of a young child then and totally busy with trying to keep us alive.

[Staph]

31. I was in my first years working for IBM.

Going through loads of training (and travelling to those training locations) and working long hours to prove myself as the new "girl" in the office (though that's a conversation for another thread today!).

All of that travelling for IBM really built up my library of paperback books. I was so riotously happy when I could finally download books and read them on my tablet or phone, instead of overloading my briefcase.

[SheltieLover]

33. Leann Sweeny cozy series

She & a partner rescue distressed cats & murder ensues. Lol

Very nice cozy series.

Glad you are experiencing Joe Grey! Stick with the series. I blew it off at first, but went back to it. Very unique writing! Fav!

Enjoy!

[AmyStrange]

34. The Joe Grey series is awesome...

-

21 books in the series all total, SR Murphy also has some other talking cat books that kind of tie in with one of the talking cats that appear in the series. One of them is called, "The Cat, the Devil, and Lee Fontana."

Anyway, I just finished "Troubled Blood." It was long and confusing, especially all those names, but I liked it.

Right now, I'm gonna finish the three other Lisbeth Salander books that were written by another author. Stieg Larson died shortly after delivering the first three books of the Dragon Tattoo series.

After that, I'm going back to the Joe Grey series, because they WILL be reincarnated in my sixth book. I already have a cameo of Dulcie in my fourth book, but I still have to figure out how to get them into my sixth one.
==========

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. I have just finished China Rich Girlfriend

by Kevin Kwan. It's the sequel to Crazy Rich Asians, which I read a couple of months ago. I have the third book Rich People Problems on hold at the library.

I think what I like best about the series is that it opens a window into a group of people, incredibly rich Asians, that I knew nothing about. And Kevin Kwan seems to know exactly what he's talking about.