Book a Week 2018 - BW23: June sojourn by bike and barge

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week twenty-three in our Open Roads Reading Adventure. Greetings to all our readers and everyone following our progress. Mister Linky is available weekly on 52 Books in 52 Weeks  to share a link to your book reviews.

Welcome to our June sojourn by bike and barge through the western Europe's low countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.  We are going to take our time and explore literary landmarks in Amsterdam, literary treasures in Belgium, and the voices and literature of writers in Luxembourg.  Plus cycle in the footsteps of Georges Simenon's fictional detective Jules Maigret and look into the heads of characters with Renate Dorrestein who recently passed away on May 4th.

We missed the beginning of the 49th Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam. However, we'll begin our literary adventures in Trompenburg Gardens for the last day listening to the poetry of Joost Baars and more.  Jump on your bike and check out  Expatica's Guide to Dutch Literature, Owlcation's Belgian Literature: Some Classic Authors and Works You Might Wish to Know, Literary Institutions of Luxembourg, as well as Goodread's Best Dutch Literature,  Popular Belgian authors, and Around the World in 80 Day's Books set in Luxembourg discussion.  

Our Blossom Bookology flower of the month are Tulips which are the national flower of the Netherlands. There are a number of directions to go for this month's challenge.    Read one book per letter using either the title and/or the first or last name of the author.  Yes, you can mix it up.  You may read a book with the name of the flower, color of the flower in the title, or on the cover.  Another possibility is a book which takes place in the time period or flower's country of origin or has some cultural significance and/or symbolism of the flower.  The choices are unlimited.

 

 Our Brit Trip on Ichnield Way is taking us to Hertfordshire and not Hereforshire. Some fun literary tie-ins to Hertforshire include: Pride and Prejudice, Howards End, and Animal Farm.  

Not Hertfordshire specific but an interesting article on famous houses inspiring literary works.

Many thanks again to Amy and Sandy for hosting the Brit Trip. Loads of fun whether you are on the Detective bus or Rebel bus.   We are almost halfway for our Brit Tripping! How’s everyone doing?  

 

Link to week 22

 

[Robin M]

My May was filled with paranormals and  romances with a couple mysteries thrown in.  Regency Romance Flowers from the Storm  took me to Buckinghamshire, I Found You to the York Coast  and What Angels Fear took me back to London again. I keep leaving the bus in London for some reason.  ?  

City of Light - Keri Arthur (#1 Outcast, Paranormal, reread, e)

Winter Halo - K.A. (#2, paranormal,  reread, e)

The Black Tide - K.A. (#3 paranormal, e)

What Angels Fear - C.S. Harris (#1 Sebastian St.Cyr mystery, 432)

Dark Queen - Faith Hunter (#12 Jane Yellowrock, 432) 

Lake Silence (World of the others, 414) 

Flowers from the Storm - Laura Kinsale (Regency England, 565)

Unfit - Keri Arthur (#1 Kingdoms of Earth and Air, 402, e)

Hell's Bells - Keri Arthur (#2 Lizzie Grace, 354, e)

Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire (#1 October Daye, reread, e)

I found You - Lisa Jewell (Mystery, York Coast, 344)

The Brightest Fell - Seanan McGuire (#11 October Daye, 368 e)

Bad to the Bone - Roxanne St. Claire (#5 Dogfather, romance 344 e)

Ruff Around the Edges - Roxanne St. Claire (#6 Dogfather, romance, 366 e)

Innocence – Dean Koontz (paranormal thriller, 338)

 

Spelled out LILY with

Lake Silence- Anne Bishop
Innocence – Dean Koontz
City of Light – Keri Arthur
I found You -  Lisa Jewell

 

Added to my e-shelves for June:

Georges Simenon’s Pietr the Latvian

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovith  which is set in Herefordshire, not Hertfordshire. I turned west instead of south. 

At Play in the Fields of the Lord by Peter Matthiesen

 

And I’m currently reading Robert Jordan’s Crossroads at Twilight.  I took a break for a while and dove back into the paperback version  last night, starting over again.  For some reason, reading it on Kindle just wasn’t working for me.  Also rereading #2 in October Daye series – A Local Habitation.

 

[Kareni]

43 minutes ago, Robin M said:

Lake Silence (World of the others, 414) 

I can't recall if you mentioned your thoughts on this book, Robin.  How did you like it in comparison to the series beginning with Written in Red?

And, out of curiosity, what is the meaning of 414?

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

I finished a couple of books yesterday.

The first was a quick and enjoyable read; it's a collection of essays:

Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces  by Michael Chabon

"For the September 2016 issue of GQ, Michael Chabon wrote a piece about accompanying his son Abraham Chabon, then thirteen, to Paris Men’s Fashion Week. Possessed with a precocious sense of style, Abe was in his element chatting with designers he idolized and turning a critical eye to the freshest runway looks of the season; Chabon Sr., whose interest in clothing stops at “thrift-shopping for vintage western shirts or Hermès neckties,” sat idly by, staving off yawns and fighting the impulse that the whole thing was a massive waste of time. Despite his own indifference, however, what gradually emerged as Chabon ferried his son to and from fashion shows was a deep respect for his son’s passion. The piece quickly became a viral sensation.

With the GQ story as its centerpiece, and featuring six additional essays plus an introduction, Pops illuminates the meaning, magic, and mysteries of fatherhood as only Michael Chabon can."
**

I also read with pleasure the Australian set historical romance   By The Currawong's Call  by Welton B. Marsland; this is a book I plan to re-read.  (Adult content)  Note:  this is currently on sale for Kindle readers for 99 cents.

"A small town, a new arrival, and a love that is as undeniable as it is unlawful...

Victoria, Australia, 1891

Anglican priest Matthew Ottenshaw receives his first posting in tiny Dinbratten, two days' ride from his Melbourne home. Determined to honour his calling as best he can, he throws himself into the footy mad, two–pub town, navigating the dusty streets, learning the gossip, and striking up a friendship with Jonah Parks, the resident police sergeant and local bona fide hero.

A police officer and a priest often find themselves needed at the same place, and Jonah and Matthew's friendship deepens quickly, as they set about their business of protecting the bodies and souls of Dinbratten's residents. When a bushfire threatens the town, and Matthew's inexperience with fire endangers the church buildings, Jonah comes to the rescue, and a reckless kiss in the midst of the chaos takes their friendship to forbidden.

Neither Matthew nor Jonah can go back to the way things were before, but continuing their relationship puts everything at risk: their jobs, their friends, even their lives. In the outback town of Dinbratten where everyone knows everything about everyone else, how can they ever expect to keep a secret this explosive?"

Regards,
Kareni

[Ali in OR]

I finished Middlemarch which I enjoyed very much. And I'm almost done with my next read, Seth Stephens-Davodowitz's Everybody Lies--Big Data, New Data, and what the internet can tell us about who we really are. This is one my dad got me and he's coming to dd's graduation this week so I thought I should try to get it done. It's very interesting and a quick read for non-fiction. The author is an expert at analyzing data from the internet such as google searches and then analyzing what that data says about us. One big topic is racism. While many pundits talked about the election of Obama meaning that we were in a post-racial era, he shows that the google searches show it was anything but. He shows that areas of the country that do google searches for "n*gger jokes" the most were also the areas with high support for Trump, and that his support tracks more closely to data that reflects racism than data that reflects poor economic conditions or other possible explanations for his election. I have found it very interesting and will try to get my dd who is almost done with her AP statistics class to read it. A word of warning that he also analyzes porn searches and other topics some will find objectionable. But his whole point is that who we think we are as a country is more accurately revealed by our google searches than by surveys or other measures of who we think we are.

My next read will be our June bookclub pick, Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan. I have no idea what it's about yet! Wait, inside the front cover it says it's about the love story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife Fanny. Have a good week everyone.

[Negin]

I haven't been here in quite a while. The boards changed and I didn't have much time to log in. Then we were away for almost all of May. We got back last week. I can't wait to see everyone's posts. I've missed you all. 

I read The Hills of Tuscany - 3 Stars - This memoir was a bit slow in that there wasn’t much in the way of plot and dialog, yet the descriptions were wonderful. I mean it is Tuscany after all! I enjoyed reading this shortly before our recent visit there. I always enjoy reading books about places that I’m about to visit. To be honest, I would only recommend this book if you’re planning on visiting Tuscany. Again, it is quite tedious otherwise. Tuscany will forever have a special place in my heart. 

Here's one of the pictures we took in the Tuscan countryside. 

MY RATING SYSTEM
5 Stars
Fantastic, couldn't put it down
4 Stars
Really Good
3 Stars
Enjoyable 
2 Stars
Just Okay – nothing to write home about
1 Star
Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

[Loesje22000]

Just some random additions:

there is a Brussels Bronte group: http://www.thebrusselsbrontegroup.org/

La Tulipe Noire by Dumas is set in the Netherlands during William of Orange. It took some while before we recognized all the Dutch names in French: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Tulip

For those who liked the giant Peach concept from Roald Dahl, might enjoy Eric in the land of insects, a grade 7-9 classic for Dutch Literature.

Flemish literature tend to end depressing... for those sensitive to that or just not in the mood pick carefully...

furthermore I am willing to help / explain / translate as far I am able to...

[Matryoshka]

Finished 3 books this week, all yesterday!

45. Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World by Suzy Hansen (ebook) - I really liked this.  I actually think every American should read this.  I found I've been reading, or already had on my soon-TR list, most of the authors she quotes, but after this I did have to add James Baldwin, who I've somehow never gotten to. (She started this whole thing because of his accounts of living in Turkey).  5 stars.

46. Der blaue Himmel / The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinang - A short memoir of the young childhood of a Tuvan boy on the Mongolian steppes.  3 stars.

47. The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (audiobook) -  a fun book that both celebrates and does a bit of a send-up of the cozy British mystery genre.  A story within a story.  4 stars.

Currently reading:

- The Unwomanly Art of War by Svetlana Alexeivich (audiobook) - I listened to another of her books last year and really liked it - being oral histories, they very much lend themselves to audiobook form.  Not that far in yet. 

- The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam (ebook) - I've just started this, but I find it's already pulled me right in.

- Ring of Swords by Eleanor Arnason - for my SciFi book club.  The edition I got out of the library is newly released with an intro by Ursula LeGuin, which I hope bodes well.  Not far enough in to form my own opinion yet (but I did read the intro first!)

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

This facebook post: https://twitter.com/laurenTarshis/status/1000359608924295168/photo/1

says, "I lost my mother in law last week. She was 96 and one of my best friends. A lifelong lover of books, she kept track of all she read on index cards and recorded her opinion in code. This is the key to her code and the cards we found among her belongings."

 

You can see the index cards above; the abbreviations are:

RB: Readable Banality

RP: Readable Piffle

NFM: Not For Me

DNF: Did Not Finish

DNR: Did Not Read

RP+1: One Step Up From “RP”

RPM: Readable Piffle Mystery

G: Good, Different, Holds My Attention

VB: Very Bad

NMS: Not My Style

PB: Pretty Boring

NBAA: Not Bad At All

RR: Readable

WOT: Waste Of Time
**

Want a library of your own?  Kickstart this! LEGO Library  by Rah Froemming-Carter
**

Need more email?  9 Newsletters About Books That Every Reader Will Look Forward To Seeing In Their Inbox  by Sadie Trombetta 

Regards,
Kareni

[mumto2]

Welcome back Negin! We missed you.....beautiful photo!

I finished the tenth book in the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths and really enjoyed it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34830283-the-dark-angel My only complaint is there is an on going cliff hanger that never gets solved!  Lol. I guess I will bw waiting a few months for the next installment.  This is a series set in Norfolk (one of Brit trippers next counties) mostly.  This particular book was set partially in Italy with a side trip to Lincolnshire.  The series features a female forensic archeologist who lectures at a local university and works with the Kings Lynn police department also.  The series is well done and a personal favorite.  Ruth is a real woman with real problems which I like.  I wouldn’t class this series as filled with adult content but there is adultery throughout the series.

I am close to finishing spelling Lily and will report as soon as I am done.  I also need to enter several books into my Brit Trip records and will get things figured out later this week.  We currently have a guest staying with us and my days have been busy!

[Violet Crown]

This week I finished The Anglo-Saxons, a survey of the relevant archeology for nonspecialists by David Wilson, from the old Pelican series of nonfiction paperbacks. All set for the British Museum, and the Sutton Hoo ship burial, which gets a chapter to itself, covers Suffolk for the BritTrip.

Circumstance now requires skipping forward to Kent with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in my travel-sized Oxford edition. I'll resume the Ichnield Way in July and see if I can catch up to the bus. Also traveling with Graham Greene's England Made Me, as we seem to have two copies so one can be abandoned in Heathrow with impunity.

[Robin M]

5 hours ago, Kareni said:

I can't recall if you mentioned your thoughts on this book, Robin.  How did you like it in comparison to the series beginning with Written in Red?

And, out of curiosity, what is the meaning of 414?

Regards,
Kareni

Lake Silence was just as good. Using the Other series and Meg and Simon as a precursor to the book, helped set the stage. Thrilling story and look forward to reading it again.   414 is the number of pages in the book. 

[Robin M]

4 hours ago, Negin said:

I haven't been here in quite a while. The boards changed and I didn't have much time to log in. Then we were away for almost all of May. We got back last week. I can't wait to see everyone's posts. I've missed you all. 

I read The Hills of Tuscany - 3 Stars - This memoir was a bit slow in that there wasn’t much in the way of plot and dialog, yet the descriptions were wonderful. I mean it is Tuscany after all! I enjoyed reading this shortly before our recent visit there. I always enjoy reading books about places that I’m about to visit. To be honest, I would only recommend this book if you’re planning on visiting Tuscany. Again, it is quite tedious otherwise. Tuscany will forever have a special place in my heart. 

Here's one of the pictures we took in the Tuscan countryside. 

MY RATING SYSTEM
5 Stars
Fantastic, couldn't put it down
4 Stars
Really Good
3 Stars
Enjoyable 
2 Stars
Just Okay – nothing to write home about
1 Star
Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

We missed you too. Good to see you and look forward to hearing more about your trip.  Gorgeous picture. 

[JennyD]

Welcome back, Negin!  

This week I was feeling in need of some gentle recuperation and so reread a favorite Laurie Colwin novel, A Big Storm Knocked it Over.  I also read two mysteries: Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation, and Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love, both by James Runcie.  I enjoyed them both even though I have found the series somewhat emotionally uneven.  Finally, I read Treating People Well, by Lea Berman (White House social secretary for Bush 43) and Jeremy Bernard (White House social secretary for Obama).  It's an interesting premise and the behind-the-scenes stories about the White House are fascinating, but I found their earnest faith in the power of civility and dignified behavior a little hard to swallow at this particular moment.  

[mumto2]

VC,  Safe travels!  I hope your daughter enjoys her Jaffa Cakes! ?

[Teaching3bears]

This week was so busy I just continued reading Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy (love the writing!) and also started a biography of Felix Mendelssohn.

[Kareni]

6 hours ago, Negin said:

Here's one of the pictures we took in the Tuscan countryside. 

Welcome back, Negin.  Your picture makes me think of a crowd of people all clustered together.

1 hour ago, Robin M said:

Lake Silence was just as good. Using the Other series and Meg and Simon as a precursor to the book, helped set the stage. Thrilling story and look forward to reading it again.   414 is the number of pages in the book. 

I know I'll be re-reading Lake Silence at some point, but the other (The Others) series is currently my favorite.  Perhaps as this new series goes on, it will become a new favorite.

Ah, I hadn't thought of the number of pages; thanks for clarifying!

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

I hope your daughter enjoys her Jaffa Cakes!

And now I want some Jaffa Cakes!

Regards,
Kareni

[Violet Crown]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

VC,  Safe travels!  I hope your daughter enjoys her Jaffa Cakes! ?

Dh, who went ahead of us, says he's already laid in a supply.

[Kareni]

I just finished the contemporary romance Falling Hard: A Colorado High Country Novel (Volume 3)  by Pamela Clare.  While this is evidently the third book in a series, it stands alone well.  (Adult content)  I found this a pleasant read and it even made me cry a time or two; I don't think it's a book I'll re-read.

"A Gold Star wife alone…

Ellie Meeks promised her pilot husband that if he was killed in combat, she would live her life to the fullest. Three years later, she is still alone, raising the twins he never met. She has no interest in dating or meeting men—until one snowy night when a stranger helps her get her sick kids safely home. That stranger turns out to be a former Army Ranger and a member of the elite Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team. He’s also tall, rugged… and irresistibly sexy.

All it takes is one kiss…

Jesse Moretti came to Colorado to get Iraq out of his head, using the adrenaline of extreme sports and high-risk mountain rescues to keep his mind off the past. But getting involved with Ellie might be the riskiest thing he’s ever done. It’s not just their explosive chemistry. There’s something about Ellie that gets inside him, opening him to feelings he’s tried hard to ignore.

When passion ignites…

Ellie feels alive in Jesse’s arms and happier than she ever thought she’d feel again. But their relationship comes at a price for him, and soon Ellie sees that she must help Jesse fight the demons of his past to protect the love of a lifetime—and save the heart of a hero."

Regards,
Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

Today I finished the 2nd Sebastian St Cyr book, When Gods Die (the Prince song "When Doves Cry" goes through my head every time I read the title), and I finished my Star Trek Legacies audiobook. I'm enjoying the St Cyr books -- they hit that sweet spot of being fluff but intelligent. I'm learning quite a bit about Regency England -- well, in part because I was curious and started googling topics. I like how the author highlights the limited options for women in the period, and the poverty of the time -- Jane Austen certainly never talked about pick pockets and urchins in the mean streets of London!

The Star Trek book was a solid ok. I liked the basic plot, but the writing made me roll my eyes a bit.

A couple of nights ago I also finished My Brilliant Career, which I really enjoyed. Isn't there a good movie version of it?

All of which means I get to start some new books this week! I've got a stack right here next to me and a couple of new audio titles as well. And a few more on my kindle. So many choices! I've got 2 non-fiction books that look intriguing, The Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and The Places in Between (Rory Stewart's record of his journey on foot across Afghanistan in 2002). For fiction I've got Exit West, or Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, or Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending among others. What to choose? There's even more on my kindle...

[Negin]

6 hours ago, Kareni said:

Welcome back, Negin.  Your picture makes me think of a crowd of people all clustered together.

Thank you, Kareni. I never thought of it that way. Love your observation!  

[Negin]

8 hours ago, Robin M said:

We missed you too. Good to see you and look forward to hearing more about your trip.  Gorgeous picture. 

Thank you, dear Robin. I've missed you all also. Thank you, as always, for this lovey thread. It's nice to be back and hopefully soon catch up on all the recommendations that I've missed. The trip was wonderful. 

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale today. 

[mumto2]

8 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

Today I finished the 2nd Sebastian St Cyr book, When Gods Die (the Prince song "When Doves Cry" goes through my head every time I read the title), and I finished my Star Trek Legacies audiobook. I'm enjoying the St Cyr books -- they hit that sweet spot of being fluff but intelligent. I'm learning quite a bit about Regency England -- well, in part because I was curious and started googling topics. I like how the author highlights the limited options for women in the period, and the poverty of the time -- Jane Austen certainly never talked about pick pockets and urchins in the mean streets of London!

The Star Trek book was a solid ok. I liked the basic plot, but the writing made me roll my eyes a bit.

A couple of nights ago I also finished My Brilliant Career, which I really enjoyed. Isn't there a good movie version of it?

All of which means I get to start some new books this week! I've got a stack right here next to me and a couple of new audio titles as well. And a few more on my kindle. So many choices! I've got 2 non-fiction books that look intriguing, The Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and The Places in Between (Rory Stewart's record of his journey on foot across Afghanistan in 2002). For fiction I've got Exit West, or Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, or Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending among others. What to choose? There's even more on my kindle...

I had a great time delving into the history part of my St. Cyr re-read too.  The author has pretty extensive notes at the back of each book but they really aren't convenient on the Kindle. Lol  I did read them at the end and was pleased that I generally had researched the right things and managed to catch a few of the times she adjusted history slightly.  Overall these books are quite accurate and I also learned tons about issues frequently not discussed.  I have to say I loved the main characters simply because they cared.

I am pages away from completing Lily so will just lost now.....

L.       Where the Read Lie by CS Harris

I.         In Prior's Wood by GM Mallory

L.        Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

Y          Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas

[Mothersweets]

Hello everyone!

It's so nice to have you back, Negin! Loved the pic ?

Ali, so glad to hear you enjoyed Middlemarch! ❤️ 

Last week I zipped through I'll Be Gone in the Dark:One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara. This was a great read - I couldn't put it down and finished it in two days. I had been concerned that it would be gory or too descriptive but it wasn't. The author did an excellent job of showing the victims as real people and the horrific nature of the crimes against them without being gory or salacious. It's amazing how the killer got away with it for so long!  I don't know how anyone living in the area at the time could have gotten any sleep - I would have been freaking out.  I find myself double-checking that my windows and doors are all locked now. 

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

The 30 Best Dystopian Novels of All Time

 

Read, Play, Love: Books About Violins And Violinists  by Daisy Johnson 

 

What If? 15 Great Alternate History Books and Series  by Teresa Preston

 

Time Travel Romance Novels Beyond Outlander  byJessica Pryde

  

7 Sci-Fi Novels for When You Want to Laugh  (some of these did not leave me laughing)

and some currently free books for Kindle readers ~

a classic, today only:   Notes from Underground  by Fyodor Dostoyevsky  

Arthurian fantasy:  Intangible (Piercing the Veil Book 1)  by C.A. Gray

post-apocalyptic: What Survives of Us (Colorado Chapters Book 1) by Kathy Miner

Regards,
Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

@Negin welcome 'home' from your amazing trip. (So nice to see your paw print, and pictures, back on the thread.)

@Violet Crown Enjoy your IRL Brit Trip, snort n grin, complete with a tiny sized Canterbury Tales.  I had to google Jaffa Biscuits.

@mumto2 Thanks for the recommendations last week. A   C.J. Sansom title looks like a perfect fit ?

I noticed a few of our BaW posters are not here: sending kind thoughts your way....    and, for those navigating heartache and hard things (hug)

My current Brit Trip reads:

• Evelina ~ Francis Burney  (pub. anon 1778) Dorset/ London/ Bristol    (audio)
• The Wonderful Mr Willughby:  The First True Ornithologist  ~ Tim Birkhead  N/F Biography of the first ornithologist  (17^th century)  (Warwickshire/ Cambridge… so far)        

 

Completed (incs Brit Trip rebel bus):

• The Toll-Gate ~ Georgette Heyer   (4.5) (repeat listen)  Derbyshire
• The German Girl ~ Armando Lucas Correa (2.5)
• Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust ~ Immaculee Ilibagiza, Steve Erwin (4)  N/F  audio      Gritty, sober, real life account.   Immaculee’s developing relationship with God shows in sharp relief against the horror and despair happening all around her.
• The Fingerprint: Miss Silver Bk30 ~ Patricia Wentworth  audio  (3.5) (Deeping, Lincolnshire)   The author intentionally injects shades of Cinderella with a twist into this story – the put-upon orphan in this tale is not very likeable, and, has tangled herself up with a manipulative, abusive,  thug.  Miss Silver saves the day, so all ends well.  I was in the frame of mind to enjoy a cosy mystery, so this scored well ?

Can be read, free, online here: http://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/wentworthp-fingerprint/wentworthp-fingerprint-00-h.html

 

[Kareni]

I was out today running errands which means I was reading as my buses went hither and yon.  On arriving home, I sat and read until I finished Lucy Parker's contemporary romance Making Up (London Celebrities)  which I quite enjoyed.  This is the third book in a series of connected books; however, it can easily stand alone.  (Adult content)

"Once upon a time, circus artist Trix Lane was the best around. Her spark vanished with her confidence, though, and reclaiming either has proved…difficult. So when the star of The Festival of Masks is nixed and Trix is unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight, it’s exactly the push she needs. But the joy over her sudden elevation in status is cut short by a new hire on the makeup team.

Leo Magasiva: disgraced wizard of special effects. He of the beautiful voice and impressive beard. Complete dickhead and—in an unexpected twist—an enragingly good kisser.

To Leo, something about Trix is…different. Lovely. Beautiful, even though the pint-size, pink-haired former bane of his existence still spends most of her waking hours working to annoy him. They’ve barely been able to spend two minutes together for years, and now he can’t get enough of her. Onstage. At home. In his bed.

When it comes to commitment, Trix has been there, done that, never wants to do it again. Leo’s this close to the job of a lifetime, which would take him away from London—and from Trix. Their past is a constant barrier between them.

It seems hopeless.

Utterly impossible.

And yet…"

Regards,
Kareni

[-M-]

Since my last post, I’ve read:

■ The Perfect Mother (Aimee Molloy; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Red Clocks (Leni Zumas; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Daytripper (Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá; 2011. Graphic fiction.)
■ Mrs. Caliban (Rachel Ingalls; 1983. Fiction.)

This puts me at 56, to date.

As I mentioned previously, Molloy’s novel was just meh, but, boy, was Red Clocks terrific, as were Daytripper and Mrs. Caliban, both of which were rereads. In fact, I first read Ingalls’ slim novel more than thirty years ago and thought it was a revelation then. Now, with the benefit of years and experience, I recognize it as quite possibly perfect.

p. 107
“Have you heard of a doctor who didn’t try to shoot you full of drugs? I’m not sick. I’m bereaved. That means I’ve got to keep all my strength to get through. And if I’m full of drugs, my resistance is going to be destroyed, isn’t it?”

In anticipation of seeing the play, I’m about to reread Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer. I will also read Book III of The Aeneid this week. It’s hard to say which of the other many books in my TBR stack and scrawled in my book journal will win the coveted spot in my knapsack, though.

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Melissa M said:

Since my last post, I’ve read:

■ The Perfect Mother (Aimee Molloy; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Red Clocks (Leni Zumas; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Daytripper (Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá; 2011. Graphic fiction.)
■ Mrs. Caliban (Rachel Ingalls; 1983. Fiction.)

This puts me at 56, to date.

As I mentioned previously, Molloy’s novel was just meh, but, boy, was Red Clocks terrific, as were Daytripper and Mrs. Caliban, both of which were rereads. In fact, I first read Ingalls’ slim novel more than thirty years ago and thought it was a revelation then. Now, with the benefit of years and experience, I recognize it as quite possibly perfect.

p. 107
“Have you heard of a doctor who didn’t try to shoot you full of drugs? I’m not sick. I’m bereaved. That means I’ve got to keep all my strength to get through. And if I’m full of drugs, my resistance is going to be destroyed, isn’t it?”

In anticipation of seeing the play, I’m about to reread Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer. I will also read Book III of The Aeneid this week. It’s hard to say which of the other many books in my TBR stack and scrawled in my book journal will win the coveted spot in my knapsack, though.

I just requested Red Clocks mainly because you loved it. 

[tuesdayschild]

On 6/4/2018 at 10:36 AM, Kareni said:

Some bookish posts ~

This facebook post: https://twitter.com/laurenTarshis/status/1000359608924295168/photo/1

says, "I lost my mother in law last week. She was 96 and one of my best friends. A lifelong lover of books, she kept track of all she read on index cards and recorded her opinion in code. This is the key to her code and the cards we found among her belongings."

 

You can see the index cards above; the abbreviations are:

RB: Readable Banality

RP: Readable Piffle

NFM: Not For Me

DNF: Did Not Finish

DNR: Did Not Read

RP+1: One Step Up From “RP”

RPM: Readable Piffle Mystery

G: Good, Different, Holds My Attention

VB: Very Bad

NMS: Not My Style

PB: Pretty Boring

NBAA: Not Bad At All

RR: Readable

WOT: Waste Of Time
**

 

 

I'd love to see some of the titles, especially the RP +1 titles  ?   (She sounded like an amazing lady)

 

[mumto2]

Some Brit Tripping ideas https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/best-books-set-in-uk-england-novels-beach-holiday-read-recommendations-staycation-author-emma-claire-sweeney/167540

[Kareni]

Regarding this facebook post: https://twitter.com/laurenTarshis/status/1000359608924295168/photo/1

5 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

I'd love to see some of the titles, especially the RP +1 titles  ?  

Me, too!  I'd also like to see some of those NBAA titles.

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

Some currently free books for Kindle readers ~

today only:  The Lady with the Dog: And Other Stories  by Anton Chekhov

space race romance which I enjoyed:   Star Dust (Fly Me to the Moon, Book One)  by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner

fiction:  The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun  by Matthew Bracken

humor:  The Second Diary  by Ciara Threadgoode

contemporary romance:  Caged in Winter (Reluctant Hearts Book 1)  by Brighton Walsh

 

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

I just finished the third book in the Merchant Princes series.  The book started slow and I almost put this down after reading the first couple of chapters; however, a new character was introduced and I was engaged once again.  This is definitely a series that should be read in order.

The Clan Corporate: Book Three of The Merchant Princes  by Charles Stross

Hmm, quite the different cover art on this edition ~ Clan Corporate.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I have been trying to find my book for this month’s  Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg.........I haven’t been overly successful with my libraries.  ? Nothing I have actually found is quite right ......lol

Last year I remember a discussion about a popular Dutch? Mystery author.  The books were in my overdrive I think.  I think someone here was reading the series, maybe Penguin.  Thet sounded good.....

 

[aggieamy]

 

On 6/2/2018 at 9:47 PM, ErinE said:

@Kareni, thank you for the mention. I’ll need to check out the book. As you know, I’m a fan of economic/finance fiction and non-fiction.

 

Just an update on me, I’m sorry I haven’t posted. Weeks have passed where I didn’t finished a book as life has made it tough to concentrate on reading. Right now, I’m working through Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series and a few audio books. Light reading, that doesn’t require much thought, has helped me make it through some tough times recently.

 

Hugs, prayers, and good thoughts to those who need it.

I'm glad to "see" you back here. I hope life calms down so you can get some reading in and stick around here for a bit. ((HUGS))

 

 

 

[Kareni]

Some currently free books ~

today only you can download this classic:  The Titan by Theodore Dreiser

Fire and Sword (Sword and Sorcery Book 1)  by Dylan Doose

Christian historical fiction:  A World Such as Heaven Intended by Amanda Lauer

historical romance that I read and found pleasant:  Sonata for a Scoundrel  by Anthea Lawson 

 

contemporary romance:   SMART TASS (The OHellNO Series Book 1)  by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

 

The Mesmerist: Hope Chest Time Travel   by Pam McCutcheon

 

PERCEPTION: (A Sci-fi Mystery Dystopian Romance)   by Lee Strauss
 

fantasy:  Sparks (Sparks Saga Book 1)  by RS McCoy

fantasy:  Gate of Air: Book One of Four (Dragon Gods 1)  by Resa Nelson  (the author has additional free books)

Regards,
Kareni

[aggieamy]

I'm just popping in to say "hello". Still on deadline with my busy project so I'm getting lots of audiobooks read but not much else. At night I flip through a few cookbooks and then fall asleep.

My Brit Tripping update is pretty pathetic this week. I had forced myself to finish that "lost work discovered after she died" book of DE Stevenson's just because it was set in Herefordshire but it turned out I couldn't read a map and was supposed to be in Hertfordshire so I haven't found a book to read yet this week. And apparently I'm a bit whiny about it.

Finished:

All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson - A graphic novel about a homeschool girl who starts public school in seventh grade. Her family is involved at the Renaissance festival and that was pretty cool. Middle school Amy would have loved this but old lady Amy who has little tolerance for YA angst wanted to shake our heroine.

The Wrong Mr. Right by Berta Ruck - The original chick lit author. Her books were written in the 1910's and feel very modern for that time period. This book just didn't do anything for me. So so silly. Try her His Official Fiance  instead. (London)

Undeath and Taxes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant #2) by Drew Hayes - Lighthearted, silly, and fun. These are great short stories with a cast of wereponies, vampires, dragons, zombies, and accountants. There's a loose overarching plot to the whole book but it's easy to sit down and read a story and put the book away for the night. The only thing that holds me back from recommending these stories to everyone is that the characters use the F-word frequently. It doesn't usually bother me but it adds nothing to the story and I know that will turn away a number of people from wanting to read them.

Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer - Listened to this as an audiobook for the second time. So much fun. More of a farce and adventure than a romance though. They did a lot of traveling in the book though so that's a Brit Trip plus. (Lincolnshire)

[aggieamy]

Is anyone besides @Mothersweetsand I coloring as you go? It's a bit of a challenge because no two British maps are a like and the one we're using differs somewhat from our Brit Trip locations. For instance my map has Yorkshire divided into North and South. No matter. I just colored them both.

I've tried three time to get it to turn to correct way and it won't cooperate. Sorry about that.

[Kareni]

I just finished book four of the series I've been reading; I enjoyed it and plan to carry on.  Do read this series in order.

The Merchants' War: Book Four of the Merchant Princes  by Charles Stross

"Miriam Beckstein is a young, hip, business journalist in Boston. She discovered in The Family Trade and The Hidden Family that her family came from an alternate reality, that she was very well-connected, and that her family was too much like the mafia for comfort. She found herself caught in a family trap in The Clan Corporate and betrothed to a brain-damaged prince, and then all hell broke loose.

Now, in The Merchants' War, Miriam has escaped to yet another world and remains in hiding from both the Clan and their opponents. There is a nasty shooting war going on in the Gruinmarkt world of the Clan, and we know something that Miriam does not; something that she's really going to hate--if she lives long enough to find out."

Regards,
Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Love the coloring map, Amy. Wish I’d thought of it.

The disorientation of jet-lag didn’t prevent us from getting to the four most important spots in town today: the library, Tesco, the independent used bookshop, and the beach. Sun, sand, scones, and Scottish literature.

Travel weariness is making the fluffy Compton Mackenzie farce Monarch of the Glen just the right speed (thank you librarian). At the bookshop I picked up a 1972 Penguin Modern Poets, vol. 21 featuring poets Iain Crichton Smith, Norman MacCaig, and George Mackay Brown. Middle Girl, confident after Chaucer, bought a volume of poetry in Middle Scots, which I think is the same as the ME Northumbrian dialect. Wee Girl got an old Puffin by James Reeves, The Cold Flame; and dh is reading a John “39 Steps” Buchan novel, Witch Wood, for his Scottish reading, which I think I may take when he’s done.

[Loesje22000]

7 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I have been trying to find my book for this month’s  Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg.........I haven’t been overly successful with my libraries.  ? Nothing I have actually found is quite right ......lol

Last year I remember a discussion about a popular Dutch? Mystery author.  The books were in my overdrive I think.  I think someone here was reading the series, maybe Penguin.  Thet sounded good.....

 

 

George Simenon (Belgium)?

 

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Is anyone besides @Mothersweetsand I coloring as you go? It's a bit of a challenge because no two British maps are a like and the one we're using differs somewhat from our Brit Trip locations. For instance my map has Yorkshire divided into North and South. No matter. I just colored them both.

I've tried three time to get it to turn to correct way and it won't cooperate. Sorry about that.

Hanging my head because I haven't colored but we both know where me coloring a map created!  I just have a list of the counties on my iPad and I am trying to add the books onto my list in the right spots  as I complete them.  So far I have visited all but three of our counties in some way.  There are several multi county reads so I am far from done!

My update.......Dere Street still needs Tyne and Wear.  Durham too! ;(

For Ichneid Way,...........

Isle of Wight ,..........Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Dorset........To Ruin a Queen by Fiona Buckley at this point but planning to switch

Hampshire,.........I am listening to The Woman in White

Berkshire,...........The Killings at Badgers Drift by Caroline Graham

Buckinghamshire.......Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin

Hertfordshire.....hoping to change but I have A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson.

Essex..........I have Death at Bishop's Keep by Robin Paige on hold

Suffolk........planning to listen to I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith

Norfolk..........The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths 

12 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

Love the coloring map, Amy. Wish I’d thought of it.

The disorientation of jet-lag didn’t prevent us from getting to the four most important spots in town today: the library, Tesco, the independent used bookshop, and the beach. Sun, sand, scones, and Scottish literature.

Travel weariness is making the fluffy Compton Mackenzie farce Monarch of the Glen just the right speed (thank you librarian). At the bookshop I picked up a 1972 Penguin Modern Poets, vol. 21 featuring poets Iain Crichton Smith, Norman MacCaig, and George Mackay Brown. Middle Girl, confident after Chaucer, bought a volume of poetry in Middle Scots, which I think is the same as the ME Northumbrian dialect. Wee Girl got an old Puffin by James Reeves, The Cold Flame; and dh is reading a John “39 Steps” Buchan novel, Witch Wood, for his Scottish reading, which I think I may take when he’s done.

I didn't know Monarch of the Glen was a book but am familiar with the tv show.  Glad you arrived safely!

9 minutes ago, loesje22000 said:

 

George Simenon (Belgium)?

 

Thank you! I do have access to 6 of his books so it might be him but I am hoping for more of a detective type mystery which none of those are.   I really thought I had one marked somewhere that would work.

[Loesje22000]

9 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I have been trying to find my book for this month’s  Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg.........I haven’t been overly successful with my libraries.  ? Nothing I have actually found is quite right ......lol

Last year I remember a discussion about a popular Dutch? Mystery author.  The books were in my overdrive I think.  I think someone here was reading the series, maybe Penguin.  Thet sounded good.....

 

 

Books written by Baantjer? (Netherlands)

Robert Gulik ( Judge Doe mysteries)?

[JennW in SoCal]

I've read and enjoyed a couple of the Baantjer mysteries. I've not yet read any of the Maigret mysteries simply because when I first learned of them I was on my way to visit Flanders and meet our own Loesje, and I was feeling fiercely loyal to all things Flemish!    

I just came across a mystery series set in Bruges that might be fun. From Bruges with Love by Pieter Aspe There are some other titles from the series listed on Amazon that have been translated into English. Bruges!!! Oh, the chocolate, the beer, the architecture, the cute little shops and canals!! 

[marbel]

A coloring map!  I love it!  I created a spreadsheet.  

But I have a few new empty spaces as I've been abandoning books left and right.  Today I put my Buckinghamshire read (Enigma by Robert Harris) back in the library bag. Just can't get interested. Tonight I started reading The Importance of Being Earnest for Hertfordshire, and should have finished but I've been up too long and my contacts are bothering me, so I'm checking in here and then am off to bed.  I have The Essex Serpent lined for to start as soon as I finish Earnest, and 22 Britannia Road is waiting for me at the library for Suffolk. So for this week and the next two, I should be on the rebel bus, on time. 

16 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

<snip>

Travel weariness is making the fluffy Compton Mackenzie farce Monarch of the Glen just the right speed (thank you librarian). At the bookshop I picked up a 1972 Penguin Modern Poets, vol. 21 featuring poets Iain Crichton Smith, Norman MacCaig, and George Mackay Brown. Middle Girl, confident after Chaucer, bought a volume of poetry in Middle Scots, which I think is the same as the ME Northumbrian dialect. Wee Girl got an old Puffin by James Reeves, The Cold Flame; and dh is reading a John “39 Steps” Buchan novel, Witch Wood, for his Scottish reading, which I think I may take when he’s done.

Wait.  You are in... England?  Scotland?  How were you able to check out a book from the library?  Did you move there? I thought you were just on a trip!  What have I missed, or misunderstood?  

 

[mumto2]

4 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

 

Books written by Baantjer? (Netherlands)

Robert Gulik ( Judge Doe mysteries)?

I think Baantjer just be the author i was hunting for but no books on Overdrive.   I do have one Judge Dee but it takes place in China.......

2 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

I've read and enjoyed a couple of the Baantjer mysteries. I've not yet read any of the Maigret mysteries simply because when I first learned of them I was on my way to visit Flanders and meet our own Loesje, and I was feeling fiercely loyal to all things Flemish!    

I just came across a mystery series set in Bruges that might be fun. From Bruges with Love by Pieter Aspe There are some other titles from the series listed on Amazon that have been translated into English. Bruges!!! Oh, the chocolate, the beer, the architecture, the cute little shops and canals!! 

I found two books by Aspe!  I love Bruges!  We have the winner..... ?https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39947170-the-square-of-revenge

I also found a book called The Dinner which looks pretty goodhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33517723-the-dinner#.

I also found a book called The Tenth Witness which intrigues me. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17233995-the-tenth-witness?ac=1&amp;from_search=true

[JennW in SoCal]

37 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

I found two books by Aspe!  I love Bruges!  We have the winner..... ?https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39947170-the-square-of-revenge

 

Looking forward to hearing what you think of it. Looks like my library system has several copies of the 4 or so translated titles -- just not at any branch near me or on Overdrive. 

Ahhh, Bruges! 

[Violet Crown]

6 hours ago, marbel said:

Wait.  You are in... England?  Scotland?  How were you able to check out a book from the library?  Did you move there? I thought you were just on a trip!  What have I missed, or misunderstood?  

A recurring working vacation in Scotland. (Don’t want to be too specfic as dh’s field is very small.) As renters we get limited borrowing privileges at the library.