It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a bookish meme hosted by Book Journey. It's where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It's a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list. So hop on over via the link above and join in...and leave a comment here so I can check out what you are reading

Books Read (click on titles for review):
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Perelandra by C. S. Lewis

Currently Reading:
Middlemarch by George Eliot: Dorothea Brooke can find no acceptable outlet for her talents or energy and few who share her ideals. As an upper middle-class woman in Victorian England she can't learn Greek or Latin simply for herself; she certainly can't become an architect or have a career; and thus, Dorothea finds herself "Saint Theresa of nothing." Believing she will be happy and fulfilled as "the lampholder" for his great scholarly work, she marries the self-centered intellectual Casaubon, twenty-seven years her senior. Dorothea is not the only character caught by the expectations of British society in this huge, sprawling book. Middlemarch stands above its large and varied fictional community, picking up and examining characters like a jeweler observing stones. There is Lydgate, a struggling young doctor in love with the beautiful but unsuitable Rosamond Vincy; Rosamond's gambling brother Fred and his love, the plain-speaking Mary Garth; Will Ladislaw, Casaubon's attractive cousin, and the ever-curious Mrs. Cadwallader.

The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: A satirical "reference" book that offers reinterpretations of terms in the English language, lampooning cant and political doublespeak, as well as other aspects of human foolishness and frailty. It was originally published in 1906 as The Cynic's Word Book before being retitled in 1911. Modern "unabridged" versions that include Bierce "definitions" that were for various reasons missed by earlier editions continue to be popular a century later.

Books that spark my interest:

The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
Hide and Seek by Wilkie Collins
Lucky Jim by Kinglsey Amis
Parnassas on Wheels by Christopher Morley
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Crime Fiction on a Euro Pass: Germany

Next up on our Crime Fiction Europass vacation get-away is Germany. Browsing through various websites to see what is available--either by German authors or other authors using Germany as the backdrop--it would seem that the hands-down winner for German crime fiction is the Third Reich era. So many of the of the novels mentioned take place in Nazi Germany or involve spy thrillers during the World War II era. One of my favorite war-time movies, based on the novel by Ken Follett, is the Eye of the Needle. I have to admit that I picked it out to watch because I happen to be a Donald Sutherland fan. But I enjoyed the taut, suspenseful thriller more than I usually do. I'm not a big thriller fan, but this one grabbed me. As the book synopsis says (better than I could):

One enemy spy knows the secret to the Allies' greatest deception, a brilliant aristocrat and ruthless assassin - code name: "The Needle" - who holds the key to ultimate Nazi victory. Only one person stands in his way: a lonely Englishwoman on an isolated island, who is beginning to love the killer who has mysteriously entered her life. All will come to a terrifying conclusion in Ken Follett's unsurpassed and unforgettable masterwork of suspense, intrigue, and the dangerous machinations of the human heart.

But as the focus of my stop in Germany, I'm going to highlight a book that I've decided just had to be added to the TBR pile--March Violets by Philip Kerr. This is Kerr's debut novel of a series of crime stories set in the Nazi-era. According to the blurb: Scottish-born Kerr re-creates the period accurately and with verve; the novel reeks of the sordid decade that saw Hitler's rise to power. Bernhard Gunther is a hard-boiled Berlin detective who specializes in tracking down missing persons--mostly Jews. He is summoned by a wealthy industrialist to find the murderer of his daughter and son-in-law, killed during the robbery of a priceless diamond necklace. Gunther quickly is catapulted into a major political scandal involving Hitler's two main henchmen, Goering and Himmler. The search for clues takes Gunther to morgues overflowing with Nazi victims; raucous nightclubs; the Olympic games where Jesse Owens tramples the theory of Aryan racial superiority; the boudoir of a famous actress; and finally to the Dachau concentration camp. Fights with Gestapo agents, shoot-outs with adulterers, run-ins with a variety of criminals, and dead bodies in unexpected places keep readers guessing to the very end. Narrator Gunther is a spirited guide through the chaos of 1930s Berlin and, more important, a detective cast in the classic mold. I'm not usually a hard-boiled fan either, but this one intrigues me. I'll let you know what I think as soon as the library hold system serves it up.

Typealze My Blog

Saw this little tidbit over on My Head Is Full of Books (who found it at Morsie Reads). I've done the Myers-Briggs tests before...can't remember what it typed me as (a lot of good it does to do it and not remember, huh?). This little link will type your blog: Typalyzer

So, I plug it in and here's what I get:

The analysis indicates that the author of http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/ is of the type:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.


My Take on This:

First paragraph...I agree with friendly and I do like beautiful things. I'm not all that into bright colors (maybe it should have read "bright fabrics and soft colors") and I'm not really into sweet smells. As for "Don't like to plan ahead"???? This is the girl who complains because her husband's family NEVER plans ahead and is always telling us about doing stuff at the very last possible moment. So far...not so much on the accuracy thing.

Second paragraph....gonna have to claim that one. I'd say it's right on target on all points. Love my job (that would be my actual job & not things that have been tacked on here and there)--helping the grad students make their way through from entry to job placement. Love working with them. And, yeah, I hate confrontation and can't ever see myself in a management position.

There was also a little chart that went along with this....but I cannot get it to copy and paste or show up for anything. But it has me charted WAY low on the thinking side of things. Yep. That's right, I don't put ANY thought into my blog. None.

So...how accurate is it about you?

Labor Day Weekend Book-Binge

So...my hubby talked me into a Labor Day Weekend cruise in his '66 Mustang yesterday. We took a journey up to the Mayberry Cafe (total Andy Griffith Show theme)....and melted all over the car's red interior. The '66 Mustang has NO air-conditioning other than the natural sort and the air was none too cool out there. BUT as a carrot to get the reluctant wife into the car (my enthusiasm for the car does not match the hubby's), we made two side-trips to used bookstores and I came away with eleven "new" books!

Here's my book-binge loot:

The Murder Game by Steve Allen: I've been curious to try these mysteries by the former radio and television personality.

The Mind-Murders by Janwillem van de Wetering: Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise has me looking for all kinds of mysteries set abroad since we started our Crime Fiction on a EuroPass journey.

DeKok & Murder on the Menu by A. C. Baantjer: Ditto.

The Adventures of Creighton Holmes by Ned Hubbell: It's amazing the things I'll bring home just because they have some connection to Holmes. This is supposedly about the adventures of the great detective's grandson.....


Beast in View by Margaret Millar: This has been on the To-Be-Owned list for a long time. Not a first 1st edition, but a Bantam 1st edition printing. (Mine is in much better condition.)

Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh: One of the few Marsh books I haven't read.

The Door AND The Yellow Room by Mary Roberts Rinehart: It's Ryan at Wordsmithonia's fault that I'm now binging on buying Rinehart books. The Yellow Room was a Dell 1st edition find. Hurray!


Accent on Murder by Frances & Richard Lockridge: This is one of my favorites and up till now I didn't own a copy.


Elephants Can Remember AND Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie: Two Christies that I didn't have and haven't read for a very long time. Just needed to have them.....

Vintage Mystery Sunday: The Red House Mystery

It's Vintage Mystery Sunday and time to spotlight another classic mystery that I read and loved before I began blogging and reviewing every book I read. A lot of these books come from a time when I was a reader....period. No journaling, no notes. I kept a list of what I read and assigned a rating, but that's it. So quite a bit of my comments will be based on what my rapidly-aging, sieve-like memory will produce for me...that and the little jolts I give it by reading descriptions from the back of the books, the library website, Amazon, etc. I just want to take a moment each weekend and introduce you to some vintage mysteries that you may not know....or, perhaps, remind you of some golden oldies you may have read in the past.


This week we've go the spotlight on A. A. Milne's The Red House Mystery (1922). Milne, best known for his children's stories about Winnie-the-Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood, was a self-proclaimed devotee of the detective novel. He particularly admired the stories that featured an amateur detective up against the amateur villain. No master criminals or investigative experts for him. So, when he decided to try his hand at crime fiction, it was perfectly natural that his mystery would be solved by someone with no detecting background.

The Red House Mystery is, naturally, a country house mystery--with the added bonus of being a locked room mystery as well. Mark Ablett, owner of the country house in question, is hosting a variety of guests: a widow and her marriageable daughter, a retired major, a willful actress, and Bill Beverley, young man about town. At this time, Mark receives a message that is his long-lost brother (and black sheep of the family) Robert will be arriving soon. Robert shows up and is taken to the library to wait for his brother. Not long afterward, voices raised in argument are heard as well as a shot. The door to library is locked from within and no one answers when the house party members try to enter.

In the meantime, Tony Gillingham, friend to Bill Beverley, arrives at the house. He is on hand to help break in the door and takes on the investigation from the beginning. Entry to the library reveals Robert dead, shot through the head...and Mark is nowhere to be found. It is suggested that in the heat of the argument Mark accidentally shot his brother and then ran away in a panic. Several circumstances do not match this solution, most of all how did Mark get out of the locked room?


Milne does his best to stick to the Golden Age rule of presenting his readers with all the clues necessary to solve the mystery. And he does well with that--the reader can certainly look back and agree that everything was there if it had just been considered correctly. Sticklers for vintage mystery "rules" may quibble with the use of long-lost relatives and secret passages--which were frowned upon by Golden Age novelists. But the air of the mystery is that of light-hearted fun and not take-me-seriously crime fiction. In fact Tony and Bill are having such a grand time playing at Holmes and Watson, that they even feel a bit guilty.

I remember being pleasantly surprised and delighted at this mystery from one of my favorite childhood authors. And being disappointed that, like Tigger, this is the only one. It's a shame that we didn't get to see Milne's skill as a detective novelist develop. All in all, this was a fun romp on the lighter side of vintage fiction that I remember quite fondly.

Read Your Own Books Challenge

Susan at WastePaper Prose is hosting this challenge where you read your own books in the month of September. For more details visit the link here: http://www.wastepaperprose.com/2011/08/i-read-what-i-want-in-september.html

This isn't a difficult challenge to join in on....I was planning on working on the books in my personal TBR stack anyway. I've got quite a few from the owned piles that are signed up for other challenges. This challenge will help me whittle that pile down.

I will list the books read below:

1. Perelandra by C. S. Lewis (9/2/11)
2. The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce (9/5/11)
3. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley (9/5/11)
4. Beast in View by Margaret Millar (9/6/11)
5. The Future Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Scroll of the Dead by David Stuart Davies (9/7/11)
6. The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell (9/8/11)
7. Great British Detectives edited by Martin H Greenberg & Edward D Hoch (9/9/11)
8. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (9/13/11)
9. Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers (9/15/11)
10. Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers (9/17/11)
11. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer (9/21/11)
12. Middlemarch by George Eliot (9/27/11)
13. A Chapbook for Burnt-Out Priests, Rabbis & Ministers by Ray Bradbury (9/28/11)

My Life as a Book 2011 (so far)

Found this link to Pop Culture Nerd and her My Life As a Book series of annual posts through Peggy Ann's Post. Each year the sentences change, and everyone's invited to fill in the blanks using only the titles of the books they've read that year.
I did one of these at the end of 2010 and had a lot of fun with it. So, here we go for 2011 (so far--may have to do it again at the end of the year):
One time at band/summer camp, [we walked] The Trail of the Red Diamonds (L. Ron Hubbard) Weekends at my house are Hot & Bothered (Jane Isenberg) My neighbor is The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Laura Lippman) My boss is [the] Queen of the Flowers (Kerry Greenwood)
My ex was Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) My super hero secret identity is The Last Defender of Camelot (Roger Zelazny) You wouldn't like me when I'm angry because [there'll be an] Unnatural Death (Dorothy L Sayers) I'd win a gold medal in The Angel's Game (Carlos Ruiz Zafón)
I'd pay good money for A Pair of Jade Frogs (Ye Xin) If I were president, I would [find out] What Alice Knew (Paula Marantz Cohen) When I don't have good books, [there's] Panic in Box C (John Dickson Carr) Loud talkers at the movies should be Cordially Invited to Meet Death (Rex Stout)

Quote It! Saturday

Freda's Voice has an awesome Saturday meme for quote lovers called Quote It! and I have another blog, Quote Mistress, which is entirely devoted to the quotes I have collected over my lifetime. So my Quote It! may be found on my quote site. I'd love for you to visit...and be sure and visit Freda's Voice too!

Saturday Snapshot: September 3

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books. All you have to do is "post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mr. Linky on [her] blog. Photos can be old or new, and be of anything as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give is up to you." All she asks is that you don't just post random photos that you find online. (Click pictures for close-ups.)



Just took these this morning. My co-worker and her sisters flew over my house in this lovely hot air balloon. She just knocked off one of her bucket list items.

Perelandra: Review

Perelandra is the second book in the classic space trilogy by C. S. Lewis. The first part of the story, Out of the Silent Planet, takes place primarily on Mars. In this outing, Dr. Ransom--philologist and part-time space traveler is sent to Venus (Perelandra to everyone else in the universe). Venus is a lovely primeval planet. With garden-like floating islands on a tumultuous ocean. There are plants with fruit that taste exquisitely like nothing on earth. Everything tastes, feels, and looks much more intense than their earthly cousins. It is a classic retelling of the story of Adam and Eve. Only this time, Eve will have a human counselor sent to help her resist the temptations of the "Bent One." In this battle for the innocent mother and father of Venusian life, Ransom is sent to represent good, while Dr. Weston is taken over by the agent of evil. Ransom finds that he can't just use the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden to guide him...he must find a new way to fight evil on this new planet. The fate of Venus, and possibly Earth, lies in the balance.

It is not necessary to have read Out of the Silent Planet in order to understand the story in Perelandra. It will provide some background information, but the reader can manage well enough without it. I must say, however, that I enjoyed the first book much more. The basic retelling is good enough and the concept is a very nice one, but I feel like Lewis is far more heavy-handed and pedantic in his Christian imagery. And I say this being a Christian myself. There are long passages of somewhat convoluted thought processes--either on the part of Ransom or the Lady (Eve) of Perelandra--and an entire speech by the possessed Weston that is way over the top. I missed the simplicity and beautiful language of Out of the Silent Planet. I plan to read the final book of the trilogy, That Hideous Strength, and can only hope that Lewis returns to the writing style of the first book. Two and a half stars.

Guest Post: Artie Van Why

Not too long ago, Artie Van Why sent me a review copy of his very touching memoir: That Day in September.

Synopsis (from the back of the book): We all have our stories to tell of where we were the morning of September 11, 2001. This is one of them. In That Day in September Artie Van Why gives an eyewitness account of that fateful morning. From the moment he heard "a loud boom" in his office across from the World Trade Center, to stepping out onto the street, Artie vividly transports the reader back to the day that changed our lives and our country forever.

After reading and reviewing the book (click title above for my review), Artie and I have exchanged emails and he has very graciously agreed to write a guest post for the blog. Please read on for Artie's very moving follow-up to his memoir.


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

In the 8 years since I moved from New York City in 2003 to Lancaster, PA I hadn't been able to go back. Not even to visit friends. Though I left the city for, what I consider, a right reason (to be near my parents), I had to deal with a fair share of guilt for having left New York. Even though it was two years since 9/11, I still considered the city recovering and rebuilding. I felt as though I had neglected and left my family after the loss of one of our love ones. I know, rationally, the guilt was not warranted, but when in grief we don't always think in rationale ways.

It wasn't until this past April that I was ready to go back. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred to prompt this feeling. Perhaps all the hours of therapy were now helping me move forward. I just knew it was time to go back. To face what I feared the most; seeing Ground Zero again.

I knew I didn't want to go alone, so my parents and my sister and I took the train from Lancaster into NYC on Good Friday. We were there less than 24 hours. But it was enough time to do what needed to be done.

Going back to where it all happened was, as I knew it would be, very emotional. I stood there and cried; my family comforting me. With the construction taking place in the spot where the WTC once stood it's hard to remember just where every building was. But no matter what is there now, or will be there in the future; that spot will always be "Ground Zero" to me. I also consider it sacred ground; the burial site of many.

I didn't realize how healing it would be to be able to point out to my family just where my path led me that morning. To be able to point to a certain part of the street and say "that's where this happened" or "that's the direction I ran."

Looking back now I wonder what I was so afraid of. I think the fear of being there was far greater than actually being there. I left Ground Zero and the city believing I had taken a tremendous step towards moving back into life. It might have taken these ten years, but healing takes as long as it takes.

Friday Memes

Book Beginnings on Friday is a bookish meme sponsored by Katy at A Few More Pages. Here's what you do: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments section. Include the title and author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you are so moved, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line and if you did or did not like that sentence. Link up each week at Katy's place.


Here's mine from Perelandra by C. S. Lewis:

As I left the railway station at Worchester and set out on the three mile walk to Ransom's cottage, I reflected that no one on that platform could possibly guess the truth about the man I was going to visit.


The Friday 56 is a bookish meme sponsored by Freda's Voice. It is really easy to participate.

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link up at Freda's site.


Here's mine from Perelandra by C. S. Lewis:

Never had Ransom seen a face so calm, and so unearthly, despite the full humanity in every feature.

Challenge Complete: Take A Chance

Jenners over at Life...With Books hosted a third round of her Take a Chance Challenge this year. I had eyed her 2010 challenge, but came across it late enough that I didn't think I could do it justice. So when she decided to sponsor it again, I couldn't resist. Especially after doing the Random Bestseller for Challenge #10 and coming up with a book on my TBR shelf that I was longing to read.

Here's the challenge in a nutshell: It's all about taking chances with your reading. Jenners posted ten challenges with different methods of finding books to read (Best Seller Lists, Staff Choices from libraries/book stores, getting a recommendation from a loved one, etc). We could choose as many of the challenges as we wanted, BUT if we completed all ten then there is a prize drawing at the end. So....I dove right in and did all ten.

It was a very fun challenge. I read all kinds of books that I would never have picked out all by myself. Which, of course, was the point. I'm so glad Jenners decided to run with this one again. Thanks, Jenners!

My List:
1. The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys [Staff Pick local library] (1/28/11)
2. Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon [Recommended by a dear friend] (2/11/11)
3. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu [Book Blogger's Choice: "Best of 2010 at The Book Lady's blog] (4/10/11)
Bonus Read: The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman [not a "Best of" Choice, but recommended by DJ's Krimiblog] (2/15/11)
4. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman [Critic's Choice: Top Ten of 2010 as chosen by NY Times Critic Janet Maslin] (5/2/11)
5. Hot & Bothered by Jane Isenberg (7/9/11) [Book Blurb (find a book with a blurb from another author; read a book by that author)--blurb found on The Last Matryoshka by Joyce Yarrow]
6. The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time by David L Ulin [Book Seer suggestion because I finished Howards End Is on the Landing by Susan Hill] (6/7/11)
7. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (6/8/11) [What Should I Read Next? suggestion because I finished The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Sutterfield]
other suggestions: The Savage Garden by Mark Mills; The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay; or The Conjuror's Bird by Martin Davies
8. Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro [Which Book pick] (3/5/11)
9. The Book Thief [Most Reviewed] (8/31/1)
10. Robert Kennedy: In His Own Words by Edwin O. Guthman and Jeffrey Shulman (eds). [Using the Random Org link I was given the year 1988. This book was on the New York Times NonFiction Best Sellers list during the week that has my birthday in it.] 7/19/11

CHALLENGE COMPLETE 8/31/11

R. I. P. VI Challenge

You'll never guess. Not in a million years. What do you mean I've signed up for another challenge? How did you know? Oh. The title of the post....I suppose that was a teensy little clue. Um. Yeah. You're right. Temptation in the form of another challenge just waltzed across my pathway and I happen to have the books sitting right over.....there (in that precariously stacked TBR pile) that will fulfill it.

Banner artwork by Melissa Nucera

Carl V is once again hosting the R. I. P. (R. eaders I. mbibing P. eril VI) Challenge. I found this one a little late last year and missed out on participating. Not going to happen this year.

Here's a bit of the info (for full details hop on the link above and check out Carl's site):

Every September 1st through October 31st for the last 5 years Carl has hosted the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge, affectionately known as the R.I.P. Challenge.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

Carl has several challenge levels at which participants can join in. I have chosen

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit the very broad definitions of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming or Edgar Allan Poe…or anyone in between.

Here is my anticipated reading list:

1. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

2. The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell

3. Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (10/15/11) replaced Ghostly Tales and Sinister Stories of Old Edinburgh by Alan J Wilson, Des Brogan & Frank McGrail (eds)

4. The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

5. Beast in View by Margaret Millar

Reviews are not required, but if you indulge, they may be posted at the R.I.P. VI Review Site

So, go ahead, give in to temptation and join me for another Challenge!

August Reading Wrap-up

I'm still keeping up with my love of lists and keeping track of all sorts of things (especially bookish things), so here are the vital statistics for the month of August:

Total Books Read: 21
Total Pages: 5278
Percentage by Female Authors: 29%
Percentage by US Authors: 29%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors: 24%
Percentage Mystery: 57%
Percentage Fiction: 95%
Percentage written 2000+: 19%
Percentage of Rereads: 9%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for the Out Do Yourself Challenge. Every book I read counts towards my goal of 220 books read in 2011}


Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: Twelve! (41%)