Back to Civilization

Apologies to my followers for not posting for over a week....I have been on a high adventure trip with my son and his Boy Scout Troop. We went to the Boundary Waters (between Minnesota & Canada) on a canoeing & camping trip. A lot of fun, but AM I tired! My intention was to use my travel time to finish my latest birth year challenge book (The Green Man by Kingsley Amis), but just could not concentrate on it properly while traveling with a bunch of scouts. Updates coming soon! Now, I just have to catch up on all the posts from the blogs I follow.....

The Friday 56

Another Blog Hop to participate in: The Friday 56. First found this through My Views (via The Hop) last week and now through A Simple Love of Reading this week. Here are the rules:

*Grab the book nearest you. Right now.

*Turn to page 56

*Find the fifth sentence

*Post that sentence (plus one or two if you like) along with these instruction on your blog or (if you don't have your own blog) in the comment section of this blog.

*Post a link along with your post back to this blog and A Simple Love of Reading.

*Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Here is mine from The Green Man by Kingsley Amis:

"There's no way of knowing what your father saw, if anything, and you're making a lot out of what he said, a few disjointed words you may not even have heard correctly. "

Hopping into the Weekend

It's time once again for Crazy for Books' weekly Book Blogger Hop. To take part, hop on over to the blog (click on "Crazy for Books"), read the rules, and jump right in. This week's question is: Tell us about the book you are currently reading.

Well, I just started The Green Man by Kingsley Amis. It's one of the books that I'm tackling for the Birth Year Reading Challenge (details can be found over at Hotchpot Cafe). I've read some Amis before, so I'm expecting this one to be good, but I really don't have a feel for it yet.

Here's a synopsis from Amazon: The Green Man is an English country pub run by a typical Kingsley Amis progatonist, a smart, ironical alcoholic philanderer named Maurice Allingham. The pub is haunted by a wicked seventeenth-century scholar and murderer in the Faustian mode named Thomas Underhill. In his truck with the supernatural dark side, Underhill also raised an evil spirit of the forest apparently made of tree parts, known as The Green Man, who rises again when Allingham tries to sort out the skeletons in his closets. Amis in gothic mode is very entertaining, if not very believable...

If you've read this one, I'd love to hear what you thought about it.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Candle #6

Just got The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle from the library today. I had no idea that this children's book had been around as long as I have. I haven't read it since my son was small (about 14-15 years ago), but decided to add this to Birth Year Reading Challeng list when I couldn't find the book of poetry that was on the Wikipedia list for books of 1969.

Of course, this was a quick read--but it was fun. Just to enjoy the pictures and the brief story of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. And to remember the days when my son was still small enough to fit on my lap and have his mom read to him.

Candle #5: Die Laughing

Richard and Frances Lockridge were very prolific when they wrote as a team--putting out three to four books a year. Richard kept the pace up when he found himself on his own. Here's another Lockridge book from my birth year (to help fulfill the Challenge): Die Laughing. This one stars Lt. Nathan Shapiro...a cop who just happens to be good with a gun and who (as he sees it) gropes his way through situations that he just doesn't understand and some sort of luck just happens to help him solve. It certainly can't be because he's good at his job. The situation in question this time is a death in the world of the theatre--completely out of his realm.

One of New York's leading ladies, Jennifer Singleton, has been killed and it seems the police have this one all sewn up. Her gardener is caught running away from the scene with more money in his possession than he would seem to have a right to. But Nathan's wife, Rose, knows the boy and convinces the lieutenant that the case deserves another look. Off he goes into the mysterious world of playwrights and actors and, of course, comes up with an Emmy-award winning final scene with the culprit.

The Lockridges didn't write about Lt. Shapiro as often as the Norths and Inspector Heimrich, but when they did readers were always in for a treat. It amazes me how these authors could give the readers so many different slices of New York life...from the City to the country-side (Heimrich), they never seem to put a foot wrong. The Shapiro books aren't quite as light and breezy as the other series, but there is still a vein of humor running throughout. Three and a half stars out of five.

WWW Wednesdays: Books for the Week

WWW Wednesdays is a meme sponsored by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along just answer the following three (3) questions...

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Here's my three Ws for the week:
Reading now: Die Laughing by Richard Lockridge (a book from 1969 that I'm working on for the Birth Year Reading Challenge.)
Just Finished: A Risky Way to Kill also by Richard Lockridge (click title for a review)
Up next: The Green Man (Kingsley Amis) OR The French Lieutenant's Woman OR The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle); all on my Birth Year Reading Challenge TBR List.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week features a Top Ten in the world of Books. This week' s topic is: Top Ten Favorite Covers. The Broke & the Bookish admits to judging books by their covers...but has good reasons, being a graphic designer. I can't say that I'm really into cover art...although I do find it a turn off if the cover seems to have absolutely no relation to the book (or it radically changes the hair color/appearance of the main character/s. So, I can't really go through all the books I've read up till now (or that I have on my TBR list and say "Here's the top covers that really grabbed me." I've decided to take this a different route. I am really attached to the pocket size editions of books that came out in the 1930s-1960s and have managed to start a collection of those. Here are my Top Ten Pocket Size Edition Covers from those that I own:

Fourth Candle: A Risky Way to Kill

Racked up another book from 1969 this evening by reading Richard Lockridge's A Risky Way to Kill. Richard and Frances Lockridge started several series together (Mr. & Mrs. North, Inspector Heimrich, Bernie Simmons, and others). When his wife died, Richard Lockridge went on with the writing. The stories are crisp, yet homey. Sometimes madcap, but never over-the-top. The Pam & Jerry North books beat Nick & Nora Charles hands down as best mystery series couple. And Inspector Heimrich is a delight as a New York State Trooper...a State Trooper who sees himself as an ungainly hippopotamus.

In this one, two advertisements placed in the local newspaper stir up questions about a young girl's death. The ads are for: Wedding dress, size 10, never used and Bay stallion, trained hunter, reasonable; also .25 caliber Winchester rifle, telescopic sight. A year ago from the date the ads are placed a 20 year old, soon-to-be married, seasoned rider was killed when her horse refused a jump and she hit the wall the horse would not take. But is that what really happened? Heimreich initially tells the editor of the newspaper (who feels his paper has been used for a cruel joke--raking up painful memories for the girl's mother) that there's nothing in it for the police. But the longer he thinks about it the more he digs....and as he digs someone gets mighty uncomfortable.

I love these breezy mysteries. They are fun and quick to read. But I also like them for the interactions between the characters: between Heimrich and his wife, Susan; between Heimrich and Lt. Forniss (his right-hand man); and between the Heimrichs and their animals. Yes, Mite (a black cat) and Colonel (a huge, Eeyore-like, Great Dane) are just as much real characters as the humans. The Lockridges had a special gift for writing about animals in an endearing way without being overly cute or giving the cats and dogs in their stories too much in the way of human characteristics.

A nice addition to my 1969 journey. Four stars out of five.

Another Candle

 Sped through Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party. I love reading Dame Agatha....she's quick, fun, and always manages to trip me up--even when I re-read one that I've done in the past. If I happen to figure out (or remember) who, I still won't quite manage to get the why. She's quite good for a quiet lunch hour's read--that would be how I managed to buzz through this one--not a lot of deep thinking necessary, but still enjoyable. And, I like Hercule Poroit and his mustaches and little grey cells.

Hallowe'en Party revolves around the seemingly senseless murder of a young girl at a neighborhood Halloween Party. Is it just a random killing or did she really (as she boasted earlier that day) witness a murder that now has to be hushed up. Everyone says that the girl is liar....was she lying this time? Dame Agatha, as usual, takes what you think and gives it her own special twist. Three and a half stars our of five.

Teaser Tusedays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookis meme hoseted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along. Just do the following:

• 
  
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others
• Share the title & author, too so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

My teasers for the week:
"You do ask the most difficult questions. Embarrassing ones," said Mrs. Oliver. "It seems the only thing you're interested in is whether people are nice or not."
from Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

Candle #2

Really plugging away at that Birth Year Reading Challenge List. Have now read Ray Bradbury's I Sing the Body Electric. Once upon a time I seemed to be involved in a regular Golden Age science fiction orgy. Bradbury, Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Silverberg....the lot. That took me from pre-teens all the way through college. I still read SF, but not in the quantities that I did. It's a shame, really, I had forgotten how much I really loved Ray Bradbury. Digging into this short story collection for my Birth Year Challenge was absolutely delightful. I got to enjoy the title story all over again (I'd read it many moons ago). I love Bradbury's use of language and his way of using SF situations to describe the emotions of now. Whether that "now" be when the stories were actually written or the now of 2010. He absolutely captures the human condition whether he's showing the future humans on Earth or humans on Mars or humans in space. Four and 1/2 stars out Five.

How could I not love the writing of a man who gives us this?

"What is Love? perhaps we may find that love is the ability of someone to give us back to us. Maybe love is someone seeing and remembering handing us back to ourselves just a trifle better than we dared to hope or dream..." (from the title story)

Or, less philosophical, but entirely delightful:

"Out of the ditch, we unloaded ourselves into a great Buck-a-Night Bungalow Court in a murderers' ambush behind a wood and on the rim of a deep rock-quarry where our bodies might be found years later at the bottom of a lost and sourceless lake, and spent the night counting the rain that leaked through the shingle-sieve roof and fighting over who had the most covers on the wrong side of the bed. (from "The Inspired Chicken Motel")

I'm glad the Challenge gave me the chance to read Bradbury again. I won't wait so long to do it again.

My First Candle

Well, I've completed the first of my Birth Year Reading Challenge Books. One candle on my cake! I've long had Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene on my TBR list, but never seemed to get around to it. The reading challenge gave me the extra incentive needed.

What can I say about a book that begins with a funeral and the ashes of the recently departed being jumbled up with a stash of pot? One of my good friends (upon reading my post about this challenge & my proposed reading list) suggested that I start with this one. He said that I would enjoy it. He was absolutely right. I thoroughly enjoyed this romp which takes a boring, middle-aged man through an adventure of self-discovery with his rather risque Aunt Augusta. The book is totally worth it just for the stories Augusta tells. Hilarious! Henry--the boring, middle-aged man--becomes very aware of his lack of excitement prior to meeting his Aunt. He begins to feel that the people in her stories (Curran, Monsieur Dambreuse, & Mr. Visconti, for example) are more real than he is, and some of them are dead. "As I went upstairs to bed I felt myself to be a ghost returning home, transparent as water. Curran was more alive than I was. I was almost surprised to see my image was visible in the glass."

My only quibble is with the ending. It is not nearly as lively and engaging as the rest of the book. It seemed to me that after discovering that there was adventure to be had, Henry settles down to a pretty domestic life (albeit in an exotic locale). He certainly isn't taking what he's learned from his aunt and going out and living it. I gave this one four out five stars on Visual Bookshelf.

Hive of Suspects

I'm all a-buzz. I've now finished this Irish village mystery from the 1950s and can start on my Birth Year Challenge books. Fortunately, I can count those for my other reading challenges, so all is good. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, even though it is a bit beyond my usual Golden Age period mysteries. Sheila Pim has a breezy, yet confiding way of writing and she draws the reader right into the story from the very beginning. She manages to teach the reader a lot about bee-keeping and a little about mining and minerals and not induce slumber with the lectures. She is also adept at the suspect sleight of hand and made me trade the real culprit for another suspect in the last chapters. I was so convinced that my new choice was right and totally ignored the important clue that Pim had dangled in front of us early on. Three stars out of five.

I also gathered a few new quotes for my collection--including this one; oh-so-appropriate for mystery lovers:

"Shall I talk to the inspector for you? Could we give you an alibi or anything? What are friends for, if not to stand by in a crisis?"

Oh, and I'm taking Richard's suggestion and starting with Graham Greene's Travels with My Aunt. We'll see if his predictions are true.

Another Book Challenge

Just found another Reading Challenge that I don't think I'll be able resist. We'll see if I can fit it in with the others I'm doing. It's called the Birth Year Challenge and you'll find the details over at Hotchpot Cafe. Basically, the goal is to read books from the year you were born. (You can check out Wikipedia for literature lists from your year). Set yourself a goal and see if you can meet it.

There are 64 books listed on Wikipedia for 1969 (fiction, non-fiction & poetry). I'm going to aim for 22 (or about a third of the list). When I've gotten one read, I will change the color to blue. Here's what I'm shooting for (provided I can get my hands on them through the library):

• The Green Man (Kingsley Amis) 8/5/10
• Satan's World (Poul Anderson) subbing A Risky Way to Kill (Richard Lockridge) 7/20/10
• The Edible Woman (Margaret Atwood) subbing The House on the Strand (Daphne du Maurier (9/12/10)
• I Sing the Body Electric (Ray Bradbury) 7/19/10
• Hallowe'en Party (Agatha Christie) 7/20/10
• The Andromeda Strain (Michael Crichton) 8/10/10
• The Golden Wind (L Sprague de Camp) subbing Die Laughing (Lockridge) 7/21/10
• The French Lieutenant's Woman (John Fowles) 8/8/10
• Travels With My Aunt (Graham Greene) 7/18/10
• Dune Messiah (Frank Herbert) 8/19/10
• The Big Bounce (Elmore Leonard) 8/15/10
• Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (H.P. Lovecraft & Others) Sub Gideon's Power (J.J. Marric) 8/13/10
• Dress Her in Indigo (John D MacDonald) 8/17/10
• Behold the Man (Michael Moorcock) 8/11/10
• The Campus Murders (Ellery Queen) Subbing Cop Out (Queen, same year) 8/10/10
• Portnoy's Complaint (Philip Roth) 8/28/10
• Death of a Dude (Rex Stout) 8/13/10
• Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut) 9/5/10
• Damnation Alley (Roger Zelazny) 8/25/10
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) 8/30/10
• Mary, Queen of Scots (Antonia Fraser) absolutely could not finish; Subbing Robert F Kennedy: A Memoir (Jack Newfield) 9/2/10
• Freely Espousing James Schuyler (poetry) Subbing The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (because I can't find any poetry from 1969 that is readily available & this will be a fun book to fit on the list. I had no idea it had been around as long as I have) 7/22/10

May have to make adjustments if I can't find some of these. We'll see.

The Friday 56

Found another Blog Hop to participate in: The Friday 56. Found this through My Views (via The Hop). Here are the rules:

*Grab the book nearest you. Right now.

*Turn to page 56

*Find the fifth sentence

*Post that sentence (plus one or two if you like) along with these instruction on your blog or (if you don't have your own blog) in the comment section of this blog.

*Post a link along with your post back to this blog, Starting Fresh, and Storytime with Tonya and Friends

*Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Here is mine from Hive of Suspects by Sheila Pim:

"Don't you think that was a bit much to endure? I'll apologize if she likes, though I wasn't in the wrong."

At The Hop

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted every week by Crazy For Books. This week's question: Right this instant, what book are you dying to get your hands on (past, present, or future).

I've got two answers:

1. I'm waiting ever-so-impatiently for Amazon to deliver my latest order which contains Dorothy L Sayer's translation of Dante's Inferno (in three separate books: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise). I've been wanting these books for a looooooong time. They could come any minute now and I wouldn't complain.

2. The last two entries in the Philo Vance Series by S. S. Van Dine (The Garden Murder Case and The Winter Murder Case). Getting my hands on these would be both good and bad. Good because I would finally have and be able to read these; Bad because I would then have finished the series and there would be no more Philo Vances to read.

Grave Choices

Wrapped up Grave Choices by M. D. Lake this evening. I really like the character of Peggy O'Neill (campus copper at a midwestern university). This one follows Peggy as she tries to clear an obvious suspect of a particularly nasty murder. When homicide latches onto a gift horse suspect early in a mystery story, you've got to know that they've got the wrong man. Unless, of course, the author is pulling a double-bluff. It's been known to happen.

Anyone who know me knows I can't resist an academic mystery and this series is particularly good. I like the characters and the plotting. I just wish I hadn't nailed the culprit so soon. Had him/her as soon as Lake brought him/her on stage. But that didn't ruin it for me....I still didn't know why until the end. The pacing is good and it made for a nice, quick read while I was waiting to pick up the books on hold at the library. Three and a half stars out of five. Hive of Suspects, here I come.

Booking Through Thursday: It's Hot

This week Booking Through Thursday has this for us:

Well, folks, I don't know about where you are, but right here, it's HOT.

So...when you think about "hot reading," what does that make you think of? Beach reading? Steamy romances? Books that take place in a hot climate? Or cold ones?

***************************************************************

Well...where I am it is also HOT. The powers-that-be have decided that since there's a heat advisory today, it must be too hot to run the air conditioning. We might overheat the poor little machinery. Or some such nonsense. But to the question....When I think of "hot reading" I think of a book that has such a hot story line or hot characterization or both that I just can't put it down. It must be read right now and in one sitting....and don't even think about interrupting me with mundane things like "When's dinner?" or "Bev, when are you coming to bed?" Of course, it also means a good, steamy romance novel...although I only go for those once in a while. You might say I have to be in the mood. :-)

Final Tally on the Read-a-Thon

Didn't do as well on the Read-a-Thon as I would have liked--only racked up four books:

• The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr
• What Men Say by Joan Smith
• Mrs. Malory & the Fatal Legacy by Hazel Holt
• Mrs. Malory & Death in Practice by Hazel Holt

Look at my previous Read-a-Thon posts to see short reviews of these books. I did start a new one this evening--Grave Choices by M. D. Lake--but there's no way it's gonna get finished in time to count. I have pulled a good quote from it, though: "Sandra, although she loves her sister and is quite protective of her, doesn't think much of poetry. Real writers, she thinks, bring their lines all the way over to the right margin." I'm always on the lookout for quotes--particularly quotes about reading, writers, poetry, fiction, etc.

WWW Wednesdays: The Week in Books

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions:

• What are you currently reading?


• What did you recently finish reading?


• What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading: Mrs. Malory and Death in Practice by Hazel Holt

Just finished: Mrs. Malory and the Fatal Legacy by Hazel Holt and What Men Say by Joan Smith

Up Next: Hive of Suspects by Sheila Pim; Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling; or Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury--all waiting to be picked up at the library.

Reading Like Mad

I've been reading like mad as I've joined in Pure Imagination's Once Upon a Read-a-Thon (click for details). So far, I've knocked out three books (see original post about the Read-a-Thon for more details on the books).

• The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr
• What Men Say by Joan Smith
• Mrs. Malory & the Fatal Legacy by Hazel Holt

If only there weren't this thing called work....I'd have way more under my belt.

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along. Just do the following:

• Grab your current read


• Open to a random page


• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page


• Be careful not to include spoilers! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others.)


• Share the title & author, too so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teasers:
"The garden--what've you done to the garden? Was it"--she turned back to the Sergeant--"was it really necessary to destroy the garden?" (From What Men Say by Joan Smith)

Top Ten Tuesday

It's Top Ten Tuesday again from The Broke and the Bookish. Today's list: Top Ten Most Intimidating Books. Here we go....

1. Moby Dick (Herman Melville). It's huge. It's American (I'm a Brit Lit girl). I was dragged kicking and screaming through it in high school. Did I mention it was long? It didn't even help when we watched the film version with Gregory Peck as the doom & gloom minister.
2. The Night Is Large (essays by Martin Gardner). I love this book of essays....but talk about your difficult reads. Gardner thinks more thoughts more intensely about intricate ideas before breakfast than I believe I've thought in my entire 41 years.....
3. Ulysses (James Joyce). One of those books that as an English major you want to be able to say you've read. I have....but I certainly didn't get it.
4. Letters from a Lost Generation: The First World War Letters of Vera Brittain & Four Friends (ed by Alan Bishop & Mark Bostridge). Another intimidating book that I loved. This one is intimidating in subject matter. To hear the voices of the Lost Generation, the men & women who lost so much during WWI was overwhelming at times. But I'd read it again...I learned so much about this time period from this book.
5. Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings (Jorge Luis Borges). Recommended by a friend. Borges scares me. He just does--even in the stories I liked in this collection. It's not horror. It's not even creepy...but he manages to scare me none-the-less.
6. Tristram Shandy (Laurence Sterne). The ultimate of my want-to-read, but just can't do it books. I like Sterne but this one seems to have a "Keep Off" sign posted. Every time I start it, I get about 1/3 of the way in and just can't get any further.
7. Drood (Dan Simmons). Another big ol' book. Simmons took way too many words to say what he had to say. And then I didn't find that it had been worth it.
8. Tom Jones (Henry Fielding). Another one of those "I'm an English major" I should read this kind of books. It sits on my shelf and taunts me.
9. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens). The earliest of the taunting books. I tried this when I was a pre-teen and I figure I was too young for it at the time. I should gird my loins and wade in for another round.
10. Middlemarch (George Eliot). I keep telling myself that I'm going to read something by Eliot. I haven't gotten over the hurdle of intimidation yet.

Read-A-Thon!

Have also signed up for Pure Imagination's Once Upon a Read-a-Thon (click for details). Will be reading as much as possible on July 12, 13 & 14 to participate. Starting off with John Dickson Carr's The Crooked Hinge, and will update what I've read as it happens.

Just finished The Crooked Hinge (10:36 pm; 7/12/10). Another great "impossible" crime by the master. I keep reading Carr not only because I enjoy watching a master illusionist at work, but also because I'm just sure he'll have to repeat a trick. So far, he's left me wanting--every time he comes up with a different method and, like a good magician, he displays the whole trick right before your eyes and you never see the workings. Great stuff!

Have now started on What Men Say by Joan Smith (10:48 pm). Next update coming soon.

Finished What Men Say at 8:50 pm tonight (7/13/10). This was an interesting story of the discovery of a woman's decomposed body in the unused barn located on an Oxford don's estate. Smith, of course, had me from the moment I knew this was an academic mystery (my big weakness). And she tells an excellent tale in a solid and entertaining mystery. I liked this one better than the first Loretta Lawson story I read (A Masculine Ending). Loretta's motives regarding her involvement (or, rather, her lack of involvement) with the police are much more believable.

Onward to the next conquest for the Read-a-Thon: Mrs. Malory & the Fatal Legacy by Hazel Holt. Another mystery with academic tendencies. Sheila Malory writes literary criticism and this one involves the death of her fellow writer and old college friend. Sheila finds herself appointed as her friend's literary executor and as she sorts papers and letters, she begins to wonder if the death really was suicide.

Now finished with Mrs. Malory (11:00 pm; 7/13/10). Very enjoyable, even though this one is a bit darker in tone than the rest of the series that I've read so far. Still has a lot of the cozy, English village feel...but this story has been dipped a little more thoroughly into the well of despair. Might as well go on and tackle Mrs. Malory & Death in Practice while I'm at it. The Mrs. Malory books have been sitting in my TBR stack much too long.

Just finished Death in Practice (3:15 pm; 7/14/10). This one is all about the demise of the new veterninarian. He has no kennel-side manner and has managed to put up the backs of patients, owners, and his fellow townspeople right and left. Was it the owner of one of the dogs who mysteriously died under his care? Was it a relative hoping to inherit or one of the employees at the veterinary clinic who had had enough of his bossy take-over? Mrs. Malory collects tidbits from various members of the community and puts it all together to solve the mystery before the police. No academic leanings to this one, but a good British cozy.

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon Mini Challenge

Have come across another reader's activity to get involved in. This is a Read-a-Thon Mini Challege sponsored by The Eager Readers. They are asking us to name our favorite fictional couples. So, here goes:

1. Anne & Captain Wentworth in Persuasion by Jane Austen
2. Lord Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane in Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L Sayers
3. Miranda and Alan in Miranda by Grace Livingston Hill
4. Kate Fansler & Reed Amhearst in the series by Amanda Cross
5. Pam & Jerry North in the series by Frances & Richard Lockridge
Am still thinking about the second mini challenge: favorite crossover couple. I really want to hook Phryne Fisher (from the series by Kerry Greenwood) with someone. Just not sure who.

Okay...I've thought about it. I want to match Phryne Fisher up with Archie Goodwin from Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. Right time period (more or less) and I think Phryne could give Archie a good run for his money.

In Praise of Older Women

It's hard to believe that I now fit in Andras Vadja's definition of the "older woman" (30s and 40s).....

This is a lushly erotic book that still manages to provide several coy refusals. Just like the experiences cataloged in the amorous recollections of Andras Vadja. It is an engrossing story of a young man growing up among older women; learning to love and to make love from older women...and doing it while going through war and revolution and personal discovery. It has all the eroticism of a truly naughty book without leaving the reader (regardless of conservative background, trust me) feeling that it should only be read behind closed doors. Stephen Vizinczey writes convincingly of women and the intricacies of love and seduction. The book ends with the line: "But the adventures of a middle-aged man are another story." This novel makes me wish he had told that one as well. I gave it three and a half stars out of five on Visual Bookshelf.

Classical Women Poets

Just finished this all-too short book translated and introduced by Josephine Baker. It was really interesting to read the work of female classical poets in addition to Sappho. It is truly a shame that more work by women from this period did not survive. I became reacquainted with some of Sappho's best. She said so much in just a mere fragment. Like this one:

Love shook my heart
like the wind on the mountain
rushing over the oak trees

And I met a new friend in Praxilla:

[in love
beware:]
a scorpion waits
under every stone

It made me wish that this volume of fragments had been much longer. Three and a half stars out of five.

{Please note that the spacing on the fragments is not as given in the book. I do not seem to be able to get it to cooperate with me.}

Library Challenge

Okay, somebody let me know if I'm going a bit crazy here (I know, that happened a long time ago--how will anybody know the difference)...but I'm signing up for another Book Challenge on Home Girl's Book Blog. This one is a challenge meant to support your local library. There are different levels and I've decided to aim for "Stepping It Up" (checking out and reading 75 library books by the end of 2010). I may make "Super-Size Me" (100 books) but since I also have piles of "To Be Read" books of my own, I'm not sure if I'll make it. Here's the library list so far:

1. No Honeymoon for Death by Mary Kruger (1/2/10)
2. Murder on a Midsummer Night Kerry Greenwood (1/4/10)
3. Written Out by David Armstrong (1/12/10)
4. Death & the Lit Chick by G. M. Malliet (1/14/10)
5. Death at the Alma Mater by G. M. Malliet (1/24/10)
6. Three Silent Things by Margaret Mayhew (1/25/10)
7. Old Soldiers Never Die by Margaret Mayhew (2/6/10)
8. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch (2/15/10)
9. Do Butlers Burgle Banks? by P. G. Wodehouse (216/10)
10. The Scandal of the Season by Connie Willis (2/25/10)
11. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (2/25/10)
12. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (3/12/10)
13. Musical Mysteries: From Mozart to John Lennon by Albert Borowitz (3/13/10)
14. Oxford & Cambridge by Christopher Brooke (3/24/10)
15. Diary of an Amateur Photographer by Graham Rawles (4/1/10)
16. Belief or Non-Belief? A Dialogue by Umberto Eco & Cardinal Martini (4/5/10)
17. Murder Duet by Batya Gur (5/18/10)
18. The Inheritance by Simon Tolkien (5/22/10)
19. Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie (5/27/10)
20. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (6/11/10)
21. My Sherlock Holmes: Untold Stories of the Great Detective edited by Michael Kurland (7/3/10)
22. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (7/9/10)
23. Classical Women Poets translated by Josephine Balmer (7/10/10)
24. In Praise of Older Women by Stephen Vizinczey (7/11/10)
25. Hive of Suspects by Sheila Pim (7/18/10)
26. Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene (7/18/10)
27. I Sing the Body Electric by Ray Bradbury (7/19/10)
28. Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie (7/20/10)
29. The Green Man by Kingsley Amis (8/5/10)
30. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Knowles (8/8/10)
31. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton (8/10/10)
32. Cop Out by Ellery Queen (8/10/10)
33. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (8/11/10)
34. Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling (8/11/10)
35. Death of a Dude by Rex Stout (8/13/10)
36. The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard (8/15/10)
37. Dress Her in Indigo by John D MacDonald (8/17/10)
38. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (8/19/10)
39. Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny (8/25/10)
40. Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury (8/26/10)
41. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth (8/28/10)
42. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (8/30/10)
43. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (9/5/10)
44. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton (9/6/10)
45. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (9/6/10)
46. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (9/7/10)
47. The Bohemian Girl by Kenneth Cameron (9/11/10)
48. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier (9/12/10)
49. The Thanksgiving Day Murder by Lee Harris (9/13/10)
50. The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson (9/13/10)
51. Lady Fortescue Steps Out by Marion Chesney (9/14/10)
52. Soulless by Gail Carriger (9/22/10)
53. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (9/28/10)
54. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (10/1/10)
55. The Essential Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: The Definitive Annotated Edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Classic Novel by Leonard Wolf (ed) (10/3/10)
56. Changeless by Gail Carriger (10/4/10)
57. Miss Tonks Turns to Crime by Marion Chesney (10/4/10)
58. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (10/8/10)
59. Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman (10/9/10)
60. The Art of the Sonnet by Stephen Burt & David Mikics (10/16/10)
61. Blameless by Gail Carriger (10/17/10)
62. Lay On, Mac Duff! by Charlotte Armstrong (10/18/10)
63. The Conference of the Birds by Jean-Claude Carriere & Peter Brook [based on the poem by Farid Uddi Attar] (10/19/10)
64. Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn (10/24/10)
65. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin (10/29/10)
66. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (11/2/10)

67. The Agency: The Body at the Tower by Y. S. Lee (11/6/10)
68. One Step Behind by Henning Mankell (11/9/10)

69. Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood (11/12/10)
70. The Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell (11/13/10)
71. Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin (11/14/10)

72. The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes by Barry Grant (11/15/10)

73. Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer (11/22/10)

74. A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer (11/25/10)

75. A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens (11/28/10) Challenge Complete!
76. A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry (11/29/10)
77. A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock (12/2/10)

78. Behold, a Mystery! by Joan Smith (12/3/10)

79. Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood (12/4/10)

80. Death in Hellfire by Deryn Lake (12/12/10)

81. Mrs. Hudson & the Malabar Rose by Martin Davies (12/21/10)

82. Angel With Two Faces by Nicola Upson (12/28/10)

83. The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee (12/30/10)

84. They Call Me Naughty Lola by David Rose (ed) (12/30/10)

Mrs. Malory...and A Reliable Wife

Finished up two books today while waiting for my son to make Eagle Scout-related phone calls. First up: Mrs. Malory Death Among Friends. I always enjoy the Mrs. Malory series when I'm looking for a quick, light, sortof academic-related read. Mrs. Malory is a retired teacher, so that's where the academics comes in. In this one over-bearing Freda Spencer finds herself the victim of two close calls and finally, the third time is the charm...at least for the murderer. The police think they have it wrapped up when one of the suspects commits suicide, but Mrs. Malory isn't quite satisfied with the solution. This is one of the better ones of this cozy little English village series. And I thoroughly enjoyed meeting some new characters in this story. Whizzed through it in a couple of hours and enjoyed every minute.

Second: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. This came recommended by one of my former high school teachers who became my friend. It's a bit trite, but all I can say is wow. And ouch. And oh my. Who would have thought that a book so drenched in despair could be so compelling, could reach out and grab you and not let you go till the last page? This is a heartbreaking book that revolves around three people whose lives have been lives of despair and pain and longing. Three lives loaded down with baggage on a quest for something they may never have. Each think they know what will make them happy, what will set them free from the past...and each find that the answer is not what they think. Goolrick takes the reader right up to the edge, the very last chapter of the book and makes you think that there is nothing left for these characters. But then, just like the melting snow and the first shoots of spring, he offers a glimmer of hope right at the end. This book got me involved, took hold of my emotions, and didn't let me go till I felt completely wrung out when the last word had been read. Three stars out of five.

100+ Reading Challenge

Have just discovered & signed up for Home Girl's Book Blog 2010 Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge. The goal: to read 100 or more books in 2010. For more information and to sign up yourself, please click on the link to the blog.

Here's my list so far (reviews may be found on the clickable titles)....

1. No Honeymoon for Death by Mary Kruger (1/2/10)
2. Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood (1/4/10)
3. Written Out by David Armstrong (1/12/10)
4. Death & the Lit Chick by G. M. Malliet (1/14/10)
5. Death at the Alma Mater by G.M. Malliet (1/2410)
6. Three Silent Things by Margaret Mayhew (1/25/10)
7. Old Soldiers Never Die by Margaret Mayhew (2/6/10)
8. The September Society by Charles Finch (2/8/10)
9. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch (2/15/10)
10. Do Butlers Burgle Banks? by P. G. Wodehouse (2/16/10)
11. The Scandal of the Season by Sophie Gee (2/23/10)
12. Bad Chemistry by Nora Kelly (2/24/10)
13. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (2/25/10)
14. Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man by Nick Page (3/1/10)
15. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (3/12/10)
16. Musical Mysteries: From Mozart to John Lennon by Albert Borowitz (3/13/10)
17. Oxford & Cambridge by Christopher Brooke (3/24/10)
18. Woman's World by Graham Rawle (3/29/10)
19. Dave Barry's Money Secrets by Dave Barry (3/30/10)
20. Diary of an Amateur Photographer by Graham Rawle (4/1/10)
21. Belief or Non-Belief? A Dialogue by Umberto Eco & Cardinal Martini (4/5/10)
22. The Inklings of Oxford: C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien & Their Friends by Harry Lee Poe (4/6/10)
23. Beginning With a Bash by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (writing as Alice Tilton) (4/24/10)
24. The Cut Direct by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (writing as Alice Tilton) (4/25/10)
25. for one more day by Mitch Albom (4/25/10)
26. Foul Matter by Martha Grimes (4/29/10)
27. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories My Mother Never Told Me by Hitchcock (4/30/10)
28. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: More Stories My Mother Never Told Me by Hitchcock (5/1/10)
29. Dead Center by Mary Collins (5/2/10)
30. The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King (5/2/10)
31. London After Midnight edited by Peter Haining (5/6/10)
32. Literary Murder by Batya Gur (5/9/10)
33. Death & the Princess by Robert Barnard (5/12/10)
34. Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie (5/15/10)
35. Murder Duet by Batya Gur (5/18/10)
36. The Inheritance by Simon Tolkien (5/22/10)
37. Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie (5/27/10)
38. The Knowledge of Water by Sarah Smith (5/31/10)
39. Murder in a Mummy Case by K. K. Beck (6/3/10)
40. Great Tales of Mystery & Adventure by Robert Louis Stevenson (6/4/10)
41. The First Saint Omnibus by Leslie Charteris (6/7/10)
42. Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie (6/8/10)
43. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (6/11/10)
44. Death's Old Sweet Song by Jonathan Stagge (6/13/10)
45. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Veiled Detective by David Stuart Davies (6/13/10)
46. The Dark Stream by June Thomson (6/14/10) book-binge vacation
47. No Flowers, by Request by June Thomson (6/14/10) book-binge vacation
48. The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman (6/17/10) book-binge vacation
49. The Casino Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine (6/17/10) book-binge vacation
50. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (6/18/10) book-binge vacation
51. Gently Floating by Alan Hunter (6/18/10) book-binge vacation
52. The Yom Kippur Murder by Lee Harris (6/18/10) book-binge vacation
53. The New Year's Eve Murder by Lee Harris (6/19/10) book-binge vacation
54. The Happy Birthday Murder by Lee Harris (6/19/10) book-binge vacation
55. The Bar Mitzvah Murder by Lee Harris (6/19/10) book-binge vacation
56. The Lost Gallows by John Dickson Carr (6/20/10)
57. The Truth Machine by Christopher Cerf & Sharon Lerner (6/20/10)
58. A Very Particular Murder by S. T. Haymon (6/25/10)
59. A Masculine Ending by Joan Smith (6/28/10)
60. The Professor's House by Willa Cather (7/2/10)
61. My Sherlock Holmes: Untold Stories of the Great Detective edited by Michael Kurland (7/3/10)
62. A Local Matter: A Murder Case from the Notes of George Howard, Secretary to Lord Alfred Tigraines by John McGrew Bennett (7/4/10)
63. Unhappy Returns by Elizabeth Lemarchand (7/5/10)
64. And Be a Villain by Rex Stout (7/8/10)
65. If Death Ever Slept by Rex Stout (7/8/10)
66. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (7/9/10)

The following are books I own and have placed in my pile of books that have been read this spring--date not recorded and therefore uncertain. All read before I started my blog in April and definitely after January 1, 2010.

62. Do Evil in Return by Margaret Millar
63. C. B. Greenfield: The Piano Bird by Lucille Kallen
64. C. B. Greenfield: No Lady in the House by Lucille Kallen
65. C. B. Greenfield: The Tanglewood Murder by Lucille Kallen
66. Death Cap by June Thomson
67. Murder in the Title by Simon Brett
68. Wycliffe & the Schoolgirls by W. J. Burley
69. The Birthday Murder by Lange Lewis
70. Some Things Fierce & Fatal edited by Joan Kahn
71. Gently Through the Woods by Alan Hunter
72. Puzzle for Fools by Patrick Quentin
73. Dead Men Don't Ski by Patricia Moyes
74. Season of Snows & Sins by Patricia Moyes
75. The Cinco De Mayo Murder by Lee Harris
76. Missing Susan by Sharon McCrumb
77. The Sunken Treasure by Marian J. A. Jackson
78. Justice Hall by Laurie R. King
79. Much Ado About Murder edited by Anne Perry
80. While the Patient Slept by Mignon G. Eberhart
81. Suddenly While Gardening by Elizabeth Lemarchand
82. The Bassington Murder by Charlotte Hough
83. Three Women in Black by Helen Reilly
84. Spence at the Blue Bazaar by Michael Allen
85. Murder in the Title by Simon Brett
86. Latter End by Patricia Wentworth
87. Whodunit by Norma Seely
88. Patently Murder by Ray Harrison
89. The Fourth Side of the Triangle by Ellery Queen
90. The Fox by D. H. Lawrence
91. The Body in the Volvo by K. K. Beck
92. Death's Head by Jonathan Ross
93. Cabin 3033 by Anna Clarke
94. An Amateur Corpse by Simon Brett
95. Frog in the Throat by Elizabeth Ferrars
96. The Window at the White Cat by Mary Roberts Rinehart

And back on track...
97. Mrs. Malory Death Among Friends by Hazel Holt (7/9/10)
98. Classical Women Poets translated by Josephine Balmer (7/10/10)
99. In Praise of Older Women by Stephen Vizinczey (7/11/10)
100. The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr (7/12/10) Made It!!
101. What Men Say by Joan Smith (7/13/10)
102. Mrs. Malory & the Fatal Legacy by Hazel Holt (7/13/10)
103. Mrs. Malory & Death in Practice by Hazel Holt (7/14/10)
104. Grave Choices by M. D. Lake (7/15/10)
105. Hive of Suspects by Sheila Pim (7/18/10)
106. Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene (7/18/10)
107. I Sing the Body Electric by Ray Bradbury (7/19/10)
108. Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie (7/20/10)
109. A Risky Way to Kill by Richard Lockridge (7/20/10)
110. Die Laughing by Richard Lockridge (7/21/10)
111. The Green Man by Kingsley Amis (8/5/10)
112. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles (8/8/10)
113. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton (8/1010)
114. Cop Out by Ellery Queen (8/10/10)
115. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (8/11/10)
116. Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling (8/11/10)
117. Gideon's Power by J J Marric (8/13/10)
118. Death of a Dude by Rex Stout (8/13/10)
119. The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard (8/15/10)
120. Dress Her in Indigo by John D MacDonald (8/17/10)
121. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (8/19/10)
122. Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny (8/25/10)
123. Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury (8/26/10)
124. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth (8/28/10)
125. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (8/30/10)
126. Robert F Kennedy: A Memoir by Jack Newfield (9/2/10)
127. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (9/5/10)
128. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton (9/6/10)
129. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (9/6/10)
130. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (9/7/10)
131. Katherine by Anya Seton (9/9/10)
132. The Bohemian Girl by Kenneth Cameron (9/11/10)
133. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier (9/12/10)
134. The Thanksgiving Day Murder by Lee Harris (9/13/10)
135. The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson (9/13/10)
136. Lady Fortescue Steps Out by Marion Chesney (9/14/10)
137. The Divine Comedy 1: Hell by Dante Alighieri (trans by Dorothy L Sayers) (9/19/10)
138. Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers (9/20/10)
139. Soulless by Gail Carriger (9/22/10)
140. The Divine Comedy II: Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (trans by Sayers) (9/26/10)
141. Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (9/26/10)
142. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (9/28/10)
143. Madam Crowl's Ghost & Other Stories by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (9/30/10)
144. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (10/1/10)
145. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (10/2/10)
146. The Essential Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: The Definitive Annotated Edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Classic Novel by Leonard Wolf (ed) (10/3/10)
147. Changeless by Gail Carriger (10/4/10)
148. Miss Tonks Turns to Crime (10/4/10)
149 Castle Dor by Daphne du Maurier & Arthur Quiller Couch(10/5/10)
150. Prescription for Murder by Alan Hynd (10/6/10)
151. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (10/6/10)
152. Target of Suspicion John Buxton Hilton (10/8/10)
153. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (10/8/10)
154. Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman (10/9/10)
155. Death of a Charming Man by M. C. Beaton (10/10/10)
156. The Divine Comedy III: Paradise by Dante Alighieri (trans by Sayers & Barbara Reynolds) (10/13/10)
157. The Chocolate Cobweb by Charlotte Armstrong (10/13/10)
158. The Art of the Sonnet by Stephen Burt & David Mikics (10/16/10)
159. Blameless by Gail Carriger (10/17/10)
160. Lay On, Mac Duff! by Charlotte Armstrong (10/18/10)
161. The Conference of the Birds by Jean-Claude Carriere & Peter Brook [based on the poem by Farid Uddi Attar] (10/19/10)
162. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The War of the Worlds by Manly W Wellman & Wade Wellman (10/20/10)
163. The Woman in the Woods by (Charity) Lee Blackstock (10/22/10)
164. Hanged for a Sheep by Frances & Richard Lockridge (10/23/10)
165. Killing the Goose by Frances & Richard Lockridge (10/23/10)
166. Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn (10/24/10)
167. Gilgamesh trans by Herbert Mason (10/25/10)
168. Death of a Tall Man by Frances & Richard Lockridge (10/26/10)
169. Death in Clairvoyance by Josephine Bell (10/28/10)
170. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin (10/29/10)
171. A Comedy of Terrors by Michael Innes (10/31/10)
172. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (11/2/10)
173. Our Lady of the Lost & Found by Diane Schoemperlen (11/6/10)
174. The Agency: The Body at the Tower by Y. S. Lee (11/6/10)
175. One Step Behind by Henning Mankell (11/9/10)
176. Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood (11/12/10)
177. The Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell (11/13/10)
178. Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin (11/14/10)
179. The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes by Barry Grant (11/15/10)
180. Penhallow by Georgette Heyer (11/20/10)
181. Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer (11/22/10)
182. A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer (11/25/10)
183. A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens (11/28/10)
184. A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry (11/29/10)
185. Miss Hildreth Wore Brown by Olivia de Belle Byrd (11/30/10)
186. A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock (12/2/10)
187. Behold, a Mystery! by Joan Smith (12/3/10)
188. Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood (12/4/10)
189. India Black: A Madam of Espionage Mystery by Carol K Carr (12/7/10)
190. Mistletoe Mysteries collected by Charlotte MacLeod (12/8/10)
191. Christmas Stalkings collected by Charlotte MacLeod (12/11/10)
192. Death in Hellfire by Deryn Lake (12/12/10)
193. Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer (12/13/10)
194. Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer (12/14/10)
195. The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman (12/15/10)
196. The Long Skeleton by Frances & Richard Lockridge (12/19/10)
197. Mrs. Hudson & the Malabar Rose by Martin Davies (12/21/10)
198. Murder Is Suggested by Frances & Richard Lockridge (12/23/10)
199. Murder Has Its Points by Frances & Richard Lockridge (12/24/10)
200. Murder by the Book by Frances & Richard Lockridge (12/25/10)
201. Angel With Two Faces by Nicola Upson (12/28/10)
202. The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee (12/30/10)
203. They Call Me Naughty Lola by David Rose (ed) (12/30/10)
204. Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham (12/31/10)