What Fiction are you reading this week, October 17, 2021?

[hermetic]

Let's get together over a cuppa books.

I'm reading Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. This is a book about books, and bookstores, and people who read books. An homage to the thriller genre, a bookseller finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction's most ingenious murders. Anthony Horowitz calls it "Fiendish good fun." One funny thing, one of the very first pages is blank except for two words, in very tiny italics, A memoir. Then the next page says, "This story is true except that I have changed actual names to protect..." So, I thinking, "What?" But, I believe that's just part of the fun.

Listening to Laurie R. King's Night Work. I am having a bit of a hard time paying attention to it. It's not as enjoyable as her Mary Russell adventures with Sherlock, although the 'revenge ladies' is kind of a fun idea. Many dead bodies and people with reasons for revenge. Next I will take up her Lockdown, which sounds a bit more interesting.

In other news, I've sort of been binge watching New Tricks, a comedy/drama British television police procedural, available at my library. I'm up to series 5 now and loving it. It is great entertainment.

What fiction are you favoring this week?

If you are interested in that cup, or other library-themed items, have a look at
https://www.ziberstore.com/stores/libr. (I'm not affiliated, just something fun I came across the other day)

[bif]

1. "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave

A story told through the eyes of a Nigerian refugee and the English woman who saves her life. Good story well written. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through it and really enjoying it. Not a happy story.

[hermetic]

3. Lovely little write up about that one

"Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds."

[SheltieLover]

2. Dorothy Gillman's Mrs. Pollifax & Countess Karitska books

I really enjoyed the Coness Karitska books. She is a psychic who helps to solve crimes.

Mrs. Pollifax is good, too. She is an eccentric senior who serves as CIA courier in interesting locations around the world.

Nice mug! Ty for link.

I'll try 8 Perfect Murders next, if library has an e-version.

[hermetic]

5. It just came out last year

The description says there is an audio version so it should be relatively easy to locate.

Mrs. Pollifax sure sounds like fun. All 14 books rate 4-5 stars. Not too shabby. On my list now.

[SheltieLover]

6. They are very well written

And, in a sense, a "vacation" for those of us living vicariously.

I didn't like Pollifax at first, but stuck with the book & now thoroughly enjoy them. Great characters, lots of espionage, and little gory details. 👍

I tried Discworld, but just couldn't get into them. They seem disjointed.

[The King of Prussia]

4. "Death at the Dolphin" by Ngaio Marsh

Last edited Sun Oct 17, 2021, 01:17 PM - Edit history (1)

I've been reading this for about a month. I keep getting distracted by other books.
So earlier this week I finished "The Long Call", the first in a new series by Ann Cleeves. I enjoyed it - it's been made into a TV series which is being trailed heavily - that doesn't look so good.
Then I read the "Stone Chamber" the latest in Kate Ellis's excellent series set in south Devon. And I ended the week with "The Crooked Shore", the eighth in Martin Edwards's equally excellent Lake District series.

"New Tricks" is fun isn't it? James Bolam is one of my favourite actors. It finished its run a few years ago now.

I'm edging my way back into the outside world. I've offered to volunteer at a local library. Hopefully something will come of that.

The local Covid break is running out of steam. It rather looks as though it didn't translate into deaths or even hospitalisations.

Fed up with it now.

[SheltieLover]

7. Putting these authors on my list.

Ty for sharing.

Have fun at the library!

[hermetic]

9. Great idea

Volunteering at the library. Hope that works out for you.

Sadly things are getting worse here. Over 100 new cases in my area, per day. I am more than fed up with the idiots.

Stone Chamber sounds like a great choice for Halloween reading: "The chilling plot will keep you spooked and thrilled to the end'

[spike jones]

8. The "Bible". Reading again the last four books of old testament. n/t

[japple]

10. Thanks for the weekly thread, hermetic. Love that little library mug!

Last edited Mon Oct 18, 2021, 10:03 AM - Edit history (2)

Finally finished reading Honoree Fanonne Jeffers' book, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, and highly recommend it. It is quite an epic read, chock full of (true) Georgia history. Although I grew up in Georgia, I never studied GA history in school because we were living in Utah when I took state history. I loved the writing style used by this author but there were so many characters that I wish I had started a family tree when I began reading.

After reading a post in the Feminists Group by Texastowlie, I downloaded My First Thirty Years by Gertrude Beasley.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/113913833

Praise for My First Thirty Years:
"For almost a century in Texas literary circles, Gertrude Beasley's 1925 memoir has been more a legend than a book... The tangled history of My First Thirty Years, and Beasley's horrific personal fate, are case studies in society's merciless treatment of women of her era who gave voice to socially unspeakable truths. The memoir's republication this month, which makes it widely available for the first time in 96 years, is a long-overdue moment of reckoning. It's also a rich gift to the Texas literary canon."―Texas Monthly

https://smile.amazon.com/My-First-Thirty-Years-Memoir/dp/1728242886/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=My+first+thirty+years&qid=1634482743&s=books&sr=1-1

[hermetic]

11. Glad to hear

that this is finally receiving its long-overdue recognition. A little surprising, too, considering all the idiocy going on in Texas right now. I DO know that there are plenty of really good and decent folks there. Go Beto!!

[Number9Dream]

12. Finished "The First Wave" by James R. Benn

Lieutenant Billy Boyle reluctantly accompanies Major Samuel Harding, his boss, in the first boat to land on the shores of Algeria during the Allied invasion. Their task is to arrange the surrender of the Vichy French forces.
But there is dissension between the regular army, the local militia, and De Gaulle’s Free French. American black marketeers in league with the enemy divert medical supplies to the Casbah, leading to multiple murders that Billy must solve while trying to rescue the girl he loves, a captured British spy.

This was my first Billy Boyle book, and I enjoyed it enough to try the next one. If the WWII period interests you, give it a try.

[hermetic]

13. Highly acclaimed

"Billy Boyle has been to some awesome places in James R. Benn's adventurous World War II series." "Superlative...Benn maintains a high level of tension throughout. His fair-play whodunits stand comparison with the best classic mysteries."

Definitely sounds engaging. Thanks for sharing.

Hope all is well out your way. Fall colors should be getting good.

[SeattleVet]

14. Going through an old classic - Michener's 1974 'Centennial'

[hermetic]

15. I remember that one

The story of Colorado. I was living there then, in '74.

“An engrossing book . . . imaginative and intricate . . . teeming with people and giving a marvelous sense of the land.”—The Plain Dealer

[yellowdogintexas]

16. still immersed in "The Sisterhood Series"

I think after I finish this one I am going to another genre and return to these ladies later.

So many books, so little time.

We binge watched "New Tricks" it is a great series

[hermetic]

19. Ain't that the truth? So many...

And the book I'm reading now, 8 Perfect Murders, is constantly bringing up other books, some of which are new to me, and my list just keeps getting longer.

Nothing wrong with moving between genres, though. Keeps the mind fresh, IMO.

[lounge_jam]

17. TC Boyle

Just ran into and finished TC Boyle's short story titled The Shape of a Teardrop last night. Published in the March 15, 2021 issue of The New Yorker. There's also a terrific audio version of the story, read by TCB himself, which is riveting to say the least. He puts a lot into these readings, and listening is a terrific experience.

Also reading good ol' Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. Had no idea the novel addressed questions pertaining to the scientific method, rationality, and civilizational biases. Pleasantly surprised by this one, though it is a doorstopper, and might me take me a while to finish.

[hermetic]

18. I just listened

to the audio of Boyle's story here: https://www.wnyc.org/story/t-coraghessan-boyle-reads-shape-teardrop/
Wow. That was pointedly funny, sharp. Made you laugh, but ouch. Burn. It's just over a half an hour so I recommend giving it a listen.

Right on about Gulliver. The actual novel, not the retold version in the film, should be required reading for all students. We definitely need people to learn how to get along with others who are different from themselves. Though I fear it may be too late for that now.

Thanks for your input here.

[lounge_jam]

20. Indeed

Funny and ouch - yeah. He reads so well, it's like a performance in itself.

@ Gulliver - It is quite sad that the novel is butchered into so many abridged versions directed at different demographics. The one aimed at children is especially poorly done: oversimplified, things taken out of context, etc.

[efhmc]

21. Rereading the Tony Hillerman books.