Fiction
Related: About this forumWhat Fiction are you reading this week, January 16, 2022?
Still reading The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly. Its descriptor of "nail-biting intrigue" is quite apt.
Listening to The Highway by C.J. Box. Pretty creepy. Young ladies keep disappearing while traveling on the highway under the Big Sky. Leaping lizards?
What's on your reading agenda this week?
bif
(24,007 posts)Very entertaining and imaginative. Just finished it. Starting "The Clasp" by Sloane Crosley. David Sedaris thought she was funny, so I thought I'd check it out. Amusing so far.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)"A highly original, tragicomic novel as seen through Sirius, an extraordinary dog who helps his Jewish family escape from Germany to California, becomes a Hollywood star, and ultimately contributes to Hitler's downfall."
And then, "Part comedy of manners, part treasure hunt, the first novel from the writer whom David Sedaris calls 'perfectly, relentlessly funny'" Works for me.
MontanaMama
(24,023 posts)Its not fiction
more of a memoir, but I wanted to say hi on your thread, hermetic. However, it is a lovely book! Highly recommend.
That certainly does sound worth reading. Thanks
How are YOU?
MontanaMama
(24,023 posts)We are just getting over Covid in our house and are counting our blessings that we are on the other side of it. I dont wish it on anyone
well almost no one.
How is everything for you?
hermetic
(8,622 posts)And I've been worrying about you. So relieved to hear you're getting better. I know it must have been scary.
You remember Randy, my roommate? He had a freaking heart attack 10 days ago. Turned out to just be a mild one but still scared the crap out of both of us.
The weather here has been so cold and snowy that 5 new cats have moved into my backyard shelters. Poor little things.
So, situation normal here. AFU.
SheltieLover
(59,612 posts)That had to be horrifying with hospitals overrun with covidiots & staff burnt out!
I hope he is ok!
hermetic
(8,622 posts)It was so lucky, he got in just a few days before the wave hit here. Got a nice room to himself. Staff were super nice and took great care of him. And now the ICU at the same hospital is at capacity. SMDH. Anti-vaxxers abound here.
SheltieLover
(59,612 posts)My worst nightmare would be to take ill or have an accident right now!
Take good care!
MontanaMama
(24,023 posts)What a colossal scare! What a relief it was minor
well as minor as a heart attack can be.
You dont usually get a lot of cold and snow down your way, do you?
hermetic
(8,622 posts)We had to do a whole lot of shoveling and that may have been what brought on his distress. No damage was done to the heart. He just got a couple of stents put in and will start physical therapy next week.
I've only been here 8 years and have never seen a winter quite like this. All that wet weather from Oregon made its way over here. It's actually nicer in Boise. Now we have ice fog. Every day is a whole new challenge.
Hanging in, hanging on.
bahboo
(16,953 posts)man...just love Renee Ballard. She's as badass as Harry....
Don't wanna mess with her...
Polly Hennessey
(7,456 posts)and for my bedtime Cozy am reading, The Tell-All by Libby Howard (am liking this one).
hermetic
(8,622 posts)"The history of stolen Chinese artifacts intertwines with the very-English legend of the Green Maiden as American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton returns for her third adventure in the UK, in Connie Berry's The Art of Betrayal."
The three books by Connie Berry sound really good. Award winners and 5-star ratings.
Libby Howard has written a bunch of cozies, involving ghosts and the paranormal. I will be looking for those.
SheltieLover
(59,612 posts)Ty for sharing about these authors.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)She shows up in the Fiction Database, though, with 12 titles. Two of them from last year, one called Best in Breed. I dunno.
SheltieLover
(59,612 posts)Thx! I'll look for title.
Must be glitch because my library seems to list every author & title even if they don't have it. (?)
Thx again!
SheltieLover
(59,612 posts)Except breeder books. Searched under title, then keyword. Weird.
Thx again!
MOMFUDSKI
(7,080 posts)The Dark Hours. LOVE Connelly. Enjoy!
SheltieLover
(59,612 posts)This is another one that jumps back & forth from 18th C. & present. Tbh, I usually skip the older stuff.
It's decent, but I prefer her works where the animals have more input. (They talk to each other to solve crimes & to save their human mom.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(26,727 posts)The first is about a 75 year old psychiatrist whose wife died a few years earlier, and has decided to end his life. I'm about a third of the way through it, and so far he's spending his time saying goodbye to people without actually telling them he's saying goodbye.
The second, which I've just started, is about a couple who rents an apartment, and then the wife starts being bitten by bedbugs, although neither her husband nor their young child are affected. So far, so good.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)the bedbug problem from Hell. Sounds like fun. I like Ben.
The other one sounds kind of sad.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(26,727 posts)And yeah, Ben H. Winters is a good writer.
cilla4progress
(25,913 posts)not fiction (sorry to derail!) my daughter gave me for Christmas "Burning the Breeze," a true story of three generations of Montana women, beginning at the end of the Civil War, setting up and surviving there - flouting "gender conventions."
Can't wait to start reading!
hermetic
(8,622 posts)a book with that title by Jack Brennan shows up in the Fiction Database.
"Returning from the Civil War to learn that not everyone thinks he is a hero, Abel Braddock wants to settle down to quiet ranch life but is soon fighting for his life against someone who also wants to destroy the Comanche nation."
Yours sounds better.
cilla4progress
(25,913 posts)No copyrights on book titles?
Apparently the term is slang for riding at full speed.
As soon as the snows thaw...
hermetic
(8,622 posts)There was a post here, a long time ago, about that very thing. I just went back through several pages but couldn't find it. But, it was about the fact that book titles can't be copyrighted. I was peeved because I had just bought a book, Unrestricted Access, thinking I was getting this: Experience the exciting breadth of #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins's wild imagination and adventurous spirit in this anthology of his short masterworks.
Instead I got something by a J G Robbins, which nobody ever heard of. It's a novel, not short stories. Someday I will attempt to read it, but probably after I've run out of other books, like a hundred years from now.
Anyway, you might be amazed to learn how many books have the same title. Book buyers beware.
cilla4progress
(25,913 posts)You are such a fount of information, hermetic.
Appreciate you!
hermetic
(8,622 posts)I have learned a great deal by doing this every week. I am grateful for the opportunity.
Number9Dream
(1,647 posts)Thanks for the thread, hermetic.
"A Mortal Terror" wasn't as good as the other Billy Boyle books I've read. The ending was disappointing.
"The Archer's Tale" is, so far, typically good Cornwell. It's the year 1356... English vs French.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)One can count on his books being quite enjoyable. In this one, a young archer named Thomas finds his purpose is to recover a stolen sacred relic and pursue to the ends of the earth a murderous black-clad knight bearing a blue-and-yellow standard. This journey then sets him on his ultimate quest: the search for the Holy Grail.
Good stuff.
Polly Hennessey
(7,456 posts)She lives in a little house in the woods with her sons and two exuberant bloodhounds. She occasionally knits, occasionally bakes, and occasionally manages to do a load of laundry. Most of her writing is done in a bar where she can combine work with people-watching, a decent micro-brew, and a plate of Old Bay Wings.
I did not make this up. 😊
You can also go to libbyhowardbooks.com.
Some titles:
Junkyard Man
Antique Secrets
Hometown Hero, plus more.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)Sounds like someone I'd like to hang out with. Thanks.
Hope Sheltie Lover see this.
The King of Prussia
(744 posts)Old Bay Seasoning sounds great, but I doubt we can get it here.
The King of Prussia
(744 posts)I was ashamed to find that I read just 1 non-fiction book last year, out of 131 total reads - so I'm redressing the balance. Currently reading "Twenty Football Towns" by Steve Leach a tour round the lower reaches of English professional football (soccer). Before that it was "The Promise of Endless Summer: Cricket Lives from the Daily Telegraph". An anthology of cricketers' obituaries - it was wonderful. My favourite bit was Keith Miller's comment on today's sports people complaining of "pressure" - 'When athletes nowadays talk of pressure, they only reveal what they don't know of life. They've never had a Messerschmitt up their arse. That's pressure.'
We visited Grassington aka "Darrowby" on Saturday and went to the Stripey Badger bookshop, which doubles as the greengrocer's in "All Creatures Great & Small" - and I got four "Sergeant Cluff" mysteries. So "Sergeant Cluff goes fishing" is next up for me.
"Boris" Johnson and "Prince" Andrew have been keeping me angry this week. What a pair of c....
Polly Hennessey
(7,456 posts)This is as close as it gets to the iconic Old Bay Seasoning.
It has been around for 80 years
INGREDIENTS
3/4 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
5 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
INSTRUCTIONS
Place all of the ingredients in a coffee or spice grinder or small blender and grind until it's a smooth powder. Transfer the spice blend to an airtight jar and store in a dark, cool place.
For optimal flavor use within 3 months.
Makes about 1/4 cup.
The King of Prussia
(744 posts)Tempted to have a go at that.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)Sorry I missed you Sunday. Things got crazy busy for me. I did want to share what I learned about Sergeant Cluff.
Gil North's Sergeant Caleb Cluff is not a man of many words, and neither does he play by the rules. He may exasperate his superiors, but he has the loyal support of his constable and he is the only CID man in the division. Life in Gunnarshaw is tough, with its people caught up in a rigid network of social conventions. These stories are sparse, tense, and moodily evoke the unforgiving landscape.
yellowdogintexas
(22,722 posts)The women of the Sisterhood are united by their mission to help those unable to help themselves. But now theyve encountered opponents who share a unique bond of their own. The law firm of Queen, King, Bishop & Rookthe Chessmenhas been a formidable force in Washington, D.C., for decades. And Sisterhood member Nikki Quinns new case has made her their prime target.
Nikki has agreed to represent Livinia Lambert as she files for divorce from her domineering, greedy husband, Wilson Buzz Lambert. Buzz, currently Speaker of the House, fears the scandal will scupper his presidential plans, and intends to make life extremely difficult for Liviniawith the Chessmens help. For too long, the Chessmen have believed themselves above the law they pretend to serve, but theres no statute of limitations on the Sisterhoods particular brand of justiceor their loyalty . . .
Also read book 1 in Men of the Sisterhood Double Down.
I ran into a bit of trouble with the story sequences between the two series; maybe the author needs to hire those two GOT geeks who integrated the chapters of #4 & #5 to follow the timeline.
I kind of feel like there is a missing book out there that will fill in the gaps. Anyway, somewhere in the middle of the two series, Jack and Nikki acquire a German Shephard dog that is frighteningly smart. I love Cyrus!!!
The menfolk are stepping out of the pages of #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels beloved Sisterhood series and into the spotlight
After years of standing by their women, the Sisterhoods significant others have also become loyal friends. And now Jack Emery, Nikkis husband, has enlisted Ted, Joe, Jay, Bert, Dennis, and Abner to form a top-secret organization known as BOLO Consultants.
Jack has two missions in mind. The first: offering some behind-the-scenes help to Nikkis law firm as they take on the all-powerful Andover Pharmaceuticals. Andovers anti-leukemia drug causes terrible side effects in young patients, but a class-action suit seems doomed to fail. BOLO Consultants have a prescription to cure that. Meanwhile, Virginias lieutenant governor has a sideline as a slum landlord, and his impoverished tenants are suffering. Tyler Sandford believes his status puts him above the law. But when the Sisterhood and their allies decide to get involved, no one is beyond the reach of true justice
This one is set during the Christmas season and one of the stories really ties in t the holiday spirit.
Just when you think Ms Michaels can't get more inventive with the mission and the doleing out of justice, she comes up with a new one. In her blog she does say that her fans keep her supplied with plot and punishment ideas.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)These are starting to sound like true crime. Except for when the Sisterhood steps in, of course. Thanks again for the in-depth descriptions.
yellowdogintexas
(22,722 posts)current events, don't they?
Actually the in-depth descriptions are from the Amazon notes for each book. I am not that good!!!
I have read that many authors (of books and screenplays) will introduce a character who starts out as a plot device but ends up taking over the story.
This has happened with the Sisterhood. Several characters who are very integral to the later books came into the series as bit players.
Other characters who are the focus of a mission return from time to time and lend their expertise to help the Sisters get the villain(s). Like the retired SCOTUS justice who runs an underground railroad to help abused women and their children escape.
hippywife
(22,767 posts)and picked up the next in the series, Early Warning.
hermetic
(8,622 posts)The first volume of an epic trilogy from a beloved writer at the height of her powers, Some Luck starts us on a literary adventure through cycles of birth and death, passion and betrayal that will span a century in America.
hippywife
(22,767 posts)to bundle up with during the cold weather. No major excitement, no twists and turns, just a nice "a day in the life" novel.