Mystery Lover...but overall a very eclectic reader. Will read everything from the classics to historical fiction. Biography to essays. Not into horror or much into YA. If you would like me to review a book, then please see my stated review policy BEFORE emailing me. Please Note: This is a book blog. It is not a platform for advertising. Please do NOT contact me to ask that I promote your NON-book websites or products. Thank you.
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Top Ten Tuesday: Literary BFFs
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is your literary BFFs. I answered this question in shortened form for a Sunday meme that I participate in....It took me a bit to come up with five. Let's see if I can make ten.
1. Nancy Drew. So I could have all the fun of being involved in some really cool adventures...with the security of knowing that Nancy always finds a way out of tight spots.
2. Phryne Fisher (the grown up's Nancy Drew). Again terrific adventures with the added bonus of lots of good looking men hanging around. Phryne's adventures are a little more dangerous than Nancy's...but I'd risk it.
3. Henry Gamadge (from Elizabeth Daly's mysteries). This is a man who knows books. I'd want to be his friend so he could direct me to all the vintage mysteries I have on my list to own. Plus...again involvement in some pretty cool mysteries of his own.
4. Kate Fansler (from Amanda Cross's mysteries). Smart, witty, and loyal to her friends. One classy English professor. I love a woman who can reel off witty comments that make the men (and women alike) sit back and take notice.
5. Pam & Jerry North (from the Lockridge mystery series). Zany and madcap, Pam & Jerry know all the spots for shopping and dining in NYC. Good friends to have in the Big Apple.
6. Bunter from Dorothy L Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. A friend mentioned Lord Peter himself, but I wouldn't want Peter as just a friend....I'd be wanting to get Harriet out of the way and have him for myself. But Bunter is the perfect friend--loyal under fire, ready to charm any ladies who might have answers you need, able to produce toasted crumpets at a moment's notice.
7. Pooh & Piglet from the Winnie the Pooh stories. I'll take a bear with very little brain and timid piglet over a lot people any day.
8. Betsy & Tacy from the stories by Maud Hart Lovelace. Great girls and great friends.
That's it...but if you count the ones I've coupled together I've got more than ten.
Miss Hildreth Wore Brown: Review
Teaser Tuesday
Monday, November 29, 2010
A Christmas Grace: Review
It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer
A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens
A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry (finished just today)
Death in Hellfire by Deryn Lake
Behold, a Mystery! by Joan Smith (which...if it takes long enough to get there, could count towards the Christmas Challenge, it's set in Regency England at Christmas time)
Deadman's Chest by Kerry Greenwood (the most recent Phryne Fisher--can't wait to start it!)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Meet Me On Monday (24)
Meet Me on Monday is a blogging meme hosted by Java at Never Growing Old. As she says: "Blogging is a funny thing...we tell our most intimate thoughts for all to read and yet most of the time I find myself wondering, "who is this person?" I know them....but yet I don't know them! I want to know who the person behind all those words is so I thought of a great way for all of us to "meet" each other!"
Every Sunday she will post five get to know you questions that we can copy and past into our own Monday post and we can all learn a little more about each and every one of us. To play along, click on her meme name and join up with the linky.
This Week's Questions:
1. What is your favorite way to eat chicken? Fried chicken with extra crispies (preferably made by my mom). We'll pretend that there is no such thing as "calories" and "fat" and "cholesterol."
2. Have you decorated for Christmas yet? No. I am way behind on all my Christmas-y type activities. Tree should be up. Cards should be made out. Shopping should be nearly done. Not this year....
3. What is your favorite article of clothing? Hmmm. That depends on what mood I'm in. But usually, one of my Coldwater Creek outfits. I love their clothes.
4. Do you pay your bills online or write checks the old way? I don't pay bills. That's one of the hubby's jobs. Most of the bills he pays are online. Just one or two require checks.
5. Do you make Christmas cookies? Not anymore. Used to when my son was a wee one. Mainly so he could "help" Mommy decorate. ("Helping" would seem to mean getting as much icing on oneself and as many sprinkles on the floor as possible. But we always had fun!)
A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings: Review
Reading the story would have been worth it for the initial description of Scrooge alone. There’s nothing like a Victorian writer for giving a complete description:
The shorter pieces, “Christmas Festivities” and “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton,” which appear before A Christmas Carol in this collection (and, presumably, which appeared in journals prior to Carol’s publication) have elements that are found in the longer work. The family gatherings in “Christmas Festivities” are reminiscent of the party at Fred’s house and the transformation of the Sexton clearly echoes the transformation which Scrooge undergoes. Each of these shorter stories is a pleasant read, but it in the Carol that Dickens’s ideas are fully fleshed out.
The Haunted Man & the Ghost’s Bargain is another tale of transformation. Redlaw, the central character, is a chemistry teacher who broods on the evil which has been done to him and grief he has experienced in his past. One night, near Christmas, he listens to his servants talking of their good memories despite their circumstances (particularly of Philip…who has seen “87 years!” and had many things to overcome) and he falls into a particularly deep brooding state. A shadowy phantom of himself appears and offers him the chance to forget all the wrongs from his past. With this “gift” comes the power that will pass the “gift” on to those Redlaw comes in contact with. The result? Peace and happiness as Redlaw expects? Not so. Redlaw and those he comes in contact with fall into a wrathful state of universal anger. All but Milly, one of Dickens’s purely good female characters and a young boy that Milly has taken in who has known nothing but evil treatment until now. Finally, Redlaw—seeing the damage his “gift” has wrought—begs the phantom return and remove the gift. It is done…but only Milly’s goodness can counteract the anger and bring everyone back themselves. And it is Milly who presents Redlaw with the moral of the tale: "It is important to remember past sorrows and wrongs so that you can then forgive those responsible and, in doing so, unburden your soul and mature as a human being." Redlaw takes this to heart, and like Scrooge, becomes a more loving and whole person. Just in time for Christmas.
“A Christmas Tree” is a weird little story. It begins with the narrator sitting before a Christmas tree and reminiscing about his past Christmases…all the toys and presents of the past. Most of these presents seem to have scared him in some way. These memories give way to several stories of ghosts—ghosts seen by the narrator or by those he knows. And in the middle off these ghost stories the narrator informs us that he is dead. “But it’s all true; and we said so, before we died (we are dead now) to many responsible people.” I’m still not sure that I know what the point of this piece was.
“What Christmas Is, As We Grow Older” is also an odd little piece—talking about the changes in our views of Christmas as we age. The best part is this quote: “Therefore as we grow older, let us be more thankful that the circle of our Christmas associations and of the lessons that they bring, expands! Let us welcome every one of them, and summon them to take their places by the Christmas hearth.”
The final short piece, “The Seven Poor Travellers,” is nice story of a Good Samaritan. The narrator, a traveler himself, discovers that there is a house that welcomes six poor travelers (neither “rogues nor proctors”) to spend the night free of charge and gives them four-pence each. Now, as the housekeeper in charge of the house tells the narrator, four-pence doesn’t go very far in buying the travelers their dinner. So, the narrator decides that since it is close to Christmas he will provide a feast for the six travelers who spend that very night in the house. It is a nice little story about a man who sees a way to do a good turn for others and does it.
All of these stories showcase Dickens’s talent for description. Carol carries it off best with the descriptions of the various spirits and the scenes that they reveal to Scrooge—not to mention that initial description of the man himself. Some of the shorter pieces go on a bit too long, particularly when you consider that the story is much shorter than Carol. And in The Haunted Man Dickens outdoes himself…going on for two whole pages describing what winter is like when Redlaw is in his home. “When the wind was blowing, shrill and shrewd, with the going down of the blurred sun. When it was just so dark, as that forms of things were indistinct and big, but not wholly lost. When sitters by the fire began to see wild faces and figures, mountains and abysses, ambuscades and armies, in the coals. When….” And this goes on, as I said, for two pages. Some of the descriptions are very apt and effective, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
The BBC List: Have Your Read More Than 6?
[Update 4/29/15: Have now read 60]
Top 5 Sundays: Fictional BFF
Every week Larissa's Bookish Life hosts the Top 5 Sundays meme. Here's what you need to do:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme she chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention Larissa's blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Feel free to use the Feature's image
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)
This week’s theme is Fictional Characters You Wish Were Your Best Friends.
1. Nancy Drew. So I could have all the fun of being involved in some really cool adventures...with the security of knowing that Nancy always finds a way out of tight spots.
2. Phryne Fisher (the grown up's Nancy Drew). Again terrific adventures with the added bonus of lots of good looking men hanging around. Phryne's adventures are a little more dangerous than Nancy's...but I'd risk it.
3. Henry Gamadge (from Elizabeth Daly's mysteries). This is a man who knows books. I'd want to be his friend so he could direct me to all the vintage mysteries I have on my list to own. Plus...again involvement in some pretty cool mysteries of his own.
4. Kate Fansler (from Amanda Cross's mysteries). Smart, witty, and loyal to her friends. One classy English professor. I love a woman who can reel off witty comments that make the men (and women alike) sit back and take notice.
5. Pam & Jerry North (from the Lockridge mystery series). Zany and madcap, Pam & Jerry know all the spots for shopping and dining in NYC. Good friends to have in the Big Apple.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Saturday Snapshot: Nov 27
Apples on my son's apple tree. When he was way smaller than he is now (about 4, I believe), we went to pick out a tree for our back yard. I promised him that he could pick out the tree. My stubborn boy insisted on an apple tree because he wanted apples. I told him that I had no intention of spraying or netting the tree and that it would be unlikely if we ever saw apples on it. He was sure I was wrong. This year, he got to say "I told you so" to his mom.
What's In A Name 4
Challenge Complete: 5/13/11
Library Loot: November 24-30
A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry. Also picked up for the reading challenge. With Christmas just around the corner, Thomas Pitt's (one of Perry's celebrated detectives) sister-in-law, Emily Radley, is suddenly called from London to be with her dying aunt. She soon liearns that a tragic legacy haunts the once close knit community where her aunt lives. There are painful memories of an unsolved murder and fears that the killer may still live in the area. Determined to lighten her aunt's heart and help the troubled community, Emily sets out to unmask the culprit.
A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock. A more recent installment to this series was sitting on the "New Arrivals" shelf. I hate to jump into a series in the middle, so I went and grabbed Peacock's debut (both for her & the series). The year is 1837. Queen Victoria, barely 18, has just ascended to the throne of England, and a young woman named Liberty Lane has just had her first taste of sorrow. Refusing to accept that her gentle, peace-loving father has been killed fighting a duel, she vows to see justice done....
Behold, a Mystery! by Joan Smith. This one has been on the TBR list for a long time. Set in Regency England at Christmas time (might work this one into the challenge as well), it features Jessica Greenwood, a well-born, yet poorly funded young lady who is serving as a companion to her Great-Aunt Hettie. The older woman is murdered and suspicion falls upon her four visiting nephews who are presumed to be the heirs. When the will is read, however, they discover that the fortune has been left to Jessica--provided she marries one of her four cousins. Otherwise, the money will be left to Aunt Hettie's dog, Duke. Jessica's dilemma isn't just which one of her less than perfect cousins to choose...she also must avoid choosing a murderer.
Death in Hellfire by Deryn Lake. This one finds John Rawlings in disguise and infiltrating the infamous Hellfire Club. Debauchery seems to be a strong motivation for the club's meetings, but is there a more sinister element to these weekly weekends? Evil lurks in hidden corners and it seems the nobility have more than the usual share of skeletons to hide.
Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood. The most recent Phryne Fisher mystery. I've been waiting (impatiently) for this to be available from the library. This time Phryne has promised everyone in her household a nice holiday by the sea with absolutely no murders, but when they reach their rented accomodations that doesn't seem likely at all. An empty house, a gang of teenage louts, a fisherboy saved, and the mysery of a missing butler and his wife seem to lead inexorably toward a hunt for buried treasure. Phryne knows to what depths people will sink for greed, but with a glass of champagne in one hand and her pearl-handled Beretta in the other, no one is getting past her.
And--if that wasn't enough--I stopped by the library's used/discarded book store and brought these home with me as well:
The Suspect by L. R. Wright. At 80, George Wilcox hardly expected to crown his life by committing murder. It had happened so quickly, so easily, so unexpectedly...a near-perfect crime that wraps Wilcox in a web of guilt, honor, and secrets from the past. An unprovoked act that soon binds him to warmhearted town librarian, Cassandra Mitchell, and her new romantic interest, zealous Staff Sergeant Alberg. Together, they find themselves caught up in a crime whose solution transcends the logic of pure justice.
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. Atwood takes us back in time and into the life of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 19th C. Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer and his housekeeper/mistress. Grace claims no memory of the murders. Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the field of mental illness, is engaged by a group who seek a pardon for Grace. What will he find when he unlocks her memories?
Detective Stories chosen by Philip Pullman. A collection of unexplained deaths, mysterious dissappearances and daring thefts...includes stories by Isaac Asimov, Italo Calvino, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Dorothy L Sayers, and E. C. Bentley.
The Ghost Writer by John Harwood. (description by Ruth Rendell) It begins. as good ghost stories should, not in a haunted house, but in a stuffy and silent room scented with perfume and mothballs...This is a Victorain novel as well as what Henry James called a 'finished fantasy.' Portraits, photographs, lonely decaying houses, gorgeous scenery, pavilions, jewels, flowers and books abound. Strange parallels reveal themselves, but few coincidences. This is not melodrama and it is not horror. It is too well written and subtly constructed for that.
Quote It! Saturday
Versatile Blogger Award!
Here are the rules:
- Share 7 things about myself
- Pass the award to 15 bloggers recently discovered
- Notify the blogger recipients
- Link to the blogger who gave the award
7 things about me:
- I did the Black Friday shopping experience yesterday. But I did NOT get up at 2:30 am in order to be at the doors at 3 am. There isn't a bargain in the world that could get me out that early.
- I am the proudest mom in the world right now. My son finally had his Board of Review and has been awarded Scouting's highest honor. He is now an Eagle Scout! (I take every opportunity I can get to announce this.)
- I have sung with the Brooklyn Tabernacle (twice). Each October they hold an awesome choir "school" where singers can have learning sessions with the choir and then sing with them on Sunday.
- Last summer, I spent five days in the Boundary Waters (between Minnesota & Canada) with my son and the scouts--camping, canoeing, & hauling all our gear over portages. I had a marvelous time; I'm glad I did it--but you won't catch me doing that hauling all the gear thing again.
- I don't watch cable tv at all (gave it up years ago and don't miss it a bit). Don't ask me who I think will win Idol or who will get kicked off the island next. Haven't a clue.
- Speaking of...Clue is my all-time favorite board game. Miss Scarlet. In the Library. With the knife.
- And speaking of mysteries...I'm hosting my very first reading challenge: The Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge. I'd love for you to check it out!
(15) Bloggers I’ve recently discovered:
That's all I've got for now...I've already passed this award on before and several of my choices this time around have declared themselves "Award Free zones."
Friday, November 26, 2010
Vintage Mystery Challenge: My Commitment
My commitment (and, of course, I'm not eligible for prizes...I'm just in it for fun) and list:
Take 'Em to Trial: 16+ Books
Black Orchids by Rex Stout (1941) [read/reviewed 1/21/11]
Cordially Invited to Meet Death by Rex Stout (1942) [read/reviewed 1/22/11]Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh (1943) [3/1/11]
The Silk Stocking Murders by Anthony Berkeley (1928) [read/reviewed 2/19/11]Shroud of Darkness by E. C. R. Lorac (1954) [3/10/11]
Rope's End, Rogue's End by E. C. R. Lorac (1942) [read/reviewed 1/26/11]
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1887)
The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green (1878) [read/reviewed 2/8/11]
Blood Upon the Snow by Hilda Lawrence (1944)
McKee of Centre Street by Helen Reilly (1933/4) [read/reviewed 2/23/11]
5 Bullets by Lee Thayer (1944) [read/reviewed 1/12/11]
The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen (1934) [read/reviewed 1/13/11]
The New Adventures of Ellery Queen by Ellery Queen (1940)
The Innocent Bottle by Anthony Gilbert (1949)
Dividend on Death by Brett Halliday (1939) [read/reviewed 2/27/11]
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (1923) [read/reviewed 1/9/11]
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers (1934) [read/reviewed 1/3/11]Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham (1931) [read/reviewed 1/1/11]
The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham (1938) [read/reviewed 1/25/11]
A Graveyard to Let by Carter Dickson (1949) [read/reviewed 1/31/11]
Why Shoot a Butler by Georgette Heyer (1933) [read/reviewed 2/2/11]
You Can Die Laughing by A. A. Fair, aka Erle Stanley Gardner (1957) [read/reviewed 2/24/11]
Will add review links and dates read as they come.
2011 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge
Introducing: The 2011 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge. A challenge for all you mystery lovers out there who already love mysteries from the years prior to 1960 and also anyone who's ever thought, "I should give Agatha Christie (Dorothy L Sayers...Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...etc) a try."
Here are the rules:
*All books must have been written before 1960 and be from the mystery category.
*Some suggested authors include: Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Dorothy L Sayers, Earl Derr Biggers, Georgette Heyer, Edmund Crispin, Cyril Hare, Ellery Queen, Elizabeth Daly, Cyril Hare, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ngaio Marsh, S. S. Van Dine, Philip MacDonald, Rex Stout, Phoebe Atwood Taylor, Josephine Bell, Josephine Tey, Frances & Richard Lockridge, Michael Innes and Stuart Palmer. (Please remember that some of these authors published after 1960 as well--so keep an eye on the original copyright date.)
*You are welcome to count these books towards any other challenges as well.
*Challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. Sign up any time between now and November 30, 2011.
*I would love to see reviews of your challenge books, but it is not necessary to participate. If you do not have a blog, post to the comments what your challenge level will be and then post again at the progess site (see below) when you have completed your challenge (include a list of books read).
*No matter what level you choose, please try at least two different vintage authors.
*The best part? A prize for everyone who completes their challenge. Once you declare your challenge level...you are locked in for that number of books. But you may change your list of books at any time. Let me know when you have met your challenge goal and I will send you a list of prizes (books) to choose from. Of course, the earlier you finish, the longer the list of books will be.
*Please post about the challenge on your blog (feel free to grab the image) with your declared challenge level.
ADDED: I now have a Progress/Reviw site up where you can keep me updated on books read and any reviews you post. Please go HERE for the post.
*Please enter your name/blog name and the link to your challenge post in the linky below.
ADDED: If the Linky disappears (which it may do, I'm trying to arrange to keep it), then please just leave a comment with a link to your blog. Thanks!
Challenge Levels:
In a Murderous Mood: 4-6 Books
Get a Clue: 7-9 Books
Hot on the Trail: 10-12 Books
Capture the Criminal: 13-15 Books
Take 'Em to Trial: 16+ Books
OR
The Golden Age Girls*: Read 5-7 books from female authors from the vintage years
Cherchez Le Homme: Read 5-7 books from male authors from the vintage years
(*Please note that this is a play on the television show and not meant to indicate that all women are girls...though you may find that certain authors of this era believe so.)
Five Question Friday
Family get-togethers.
Friday 56
"Your welfare!" said the Ghost.
Scrooge expressed himself much obliged, but could not help thinking that a night of unbroken rest would have been more conducive to that end.
Book Beginnings on Friday
Christmas time! The man must be a misanthrope indeed in whose breast something like a jovial feeling is not roused--in whose mind some pleasant associations are not awakened--by the recurrence of Christmas.
[I say "Amen" to that! And "Yay" for finally being able to start on my Christmas Spirit Challenge! ]
A Blunt Instrument: Review
A Blunt Instrument is another delightful vintage 1930s mystery. Heyer is a master of witty and interesting characters. In this outing Neville Fletcher, the victim's nephew and one of the primary suspects, leads the cast in charming backchat and succinct bon mots. Although it initially looks like no one could possibly have a motive to bash Ernest Fletcher, the "perfect gentleman," over the head, Superintendent Hannasyde begins uncovering dirty little secrets right and left. Soon it becomes apparent that almost everybody had a motive, but now the difficulty lies in the fact that according to the established times and movements nobody could have done it. A pretty problem indeed. It isn't until a second murder occurs and Hannasyde realizes what the two murders have in common that all becomes clear.
In addition to Neville, who makes it his business to drag red herrings and entertaining conversation into the picture, we have a detective novelist who just wants to see how the police really operate (while doing her best to shield her sister), a police constable who quotes scripture and sees sin and corruption everywhere, and Sergeant Hemingway (Hannasyde's right-hand man) who can't help but egg the constable on. Who killed Ernest Fletcher? Was it the nephew (Fletcher's heir) who has been in debt up to the eyeballs? Or perhaps the novelist's sister who hoped to make a search for those inconvenient IOUs? Maybe it was the sister's husband--more jealous of Fletcher than he lets on? Then again, it might be the ex-boyfriend of a young starlet whose heart was broken by Fletcher--not because he cared for the girl you understand, but in an effort at blackmail that went wrong. As usual, a lot depends on who's telling the truth and what time everything really happened.
This is a fast-paced, fun little period mystery. Certainly not an intellectual challenge, but light and breezy and Heyer does have a way with words. She is adept at producing just the right atmosphere and just the right dialogue. Four stars out of five.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
All I Want for Christmas Is.... (7)
This week's choice: The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer...one of the last Heyer mysteries needed to complete my reading of her work.
Synopsis (from Amazon): Sir Arthur Billington-Smith is not a nice person: he is arrogant, opinionated, and abusive. His verbal abuse makes life a constant misery for his hapless wife, Fay. One truly awful weekend when Fay is trying to host a house party, Arthur's son and heir, Geoffrey, brings home Lola de Silva, a Mexican cabaret dancer who is wonderfully obtuse, vastly colorful, and totally unsuitable as a future Lady Billington-Smith. Arthur is absolutely incensed and takes his rage out on everyone. Therefore, when he is found stabbed to death in his study later in the day, all those in the house become suspects.