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Book a Week 2021 - BW45: Fictional Librarian - Raymond Ambler

Robin M

By Robin M,
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Robin M

Robin M

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Happy Sunday! Hey ma, we're going to New York City! Virtually that is.  Our bookish travels are taking us to New York City's 42nd Street Library to follow in the footsteps of our fictional librarian of the month, Raymond Ambler, a librarian, and part time amateur sleuth, created by writer Con Lehane. 

Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited to) and have fun exploring:

  • Spell out the first and/or last name of the character's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover.
  • Spell out the first and/or last name of the author - one book per letter.
  • Read one or more books in the series.
  • Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the story.
  • Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
  • Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title.

Have fun as there are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails.

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

Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 109. The Assizes
Chapter 110. The Indictment
Chapter 111. Expiation

 *******************************

Link to week 44

 Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.  

 

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Robin M

Robin M

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In my ongoing Nora Robert’s Reread,  currently on The Calhouns two book saga of sisters trying to save their ancestral home in Bar Harbor, Maine which coincidently is where my mother was raised.   

Murder at the 42nd Street Library is waiting in the wings. 

We saw Free Guy which was a fun movie to watch and put both James and I in the mood to watch Detective Pikachu again. 
 

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Robin M

Robin M

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@Lady Florida. Congratulations on finishing Count of Monte Cristo and glad you enjoyed it.   I read Dune years and years ago and will probably read again with James at some point.  Its good and hope you and hubby enjoy.   I liked the movie version with Kyle Mclaughlin since it covered the whole movie. I heard the current Dune only covers the first half of the book and they will release the sequel with the remainder in 2023.  And if I remember the story correctly, splitting it in two that way wouldn't have made sense to someone who has already read the book.  James will be too excited to wait when it comes out in DVD, but since he hasn't read the book yet, won't make much difference.   

 

@Granny_WeatherwaxI'm in a bit of a flounder myself with books right now and need to sit and contemplate my shelves and figure out what I'm really in the mood for, besides rereading Nora.   

 

 

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Granny_Weatherwax

Granny_Weatherwax

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@Robin M- I feel awful with my amount of flounder. I have such good books on my TBR shelf; books that were gifts and the givers have asked how I've enjoyed the books or are wondering when I'm going to finish the book. It's awful when the giver lives with me and I can't hide that I haven't read the book yet.
 

DS is moving to his new job about 4 hours away this weekend and, now that he'll be settled with his first real career move, maybe I can relax a bit.

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mumto2

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Thank you for the thread @Robin M  i ❤️ Detective Pikachu! I have been busy spelling all the librarian names this year.  I need to get the last couple of months posted......thinking about that led to to thinking about my ongoing Agatha Christie challenge.  I need to read or in this case listen to two more for this year to achieve my 10.  I have them both on hold.  I may go out of order as The Labors of Hercules is a story collection.

I finally discovered the charms of Bruno the French policeman this week!  I listened to it and fell in love with a little village in the Dordogne region of France in the touristy area near the Lascaux cave paintings.  The book painted a beautiful picture until a horrorific crime happened and a Muslim immigrant war hero is murdered.  Quite a bit of interesting French history is mentioned.....even a bit about the French Foreign legion.  Not cozy really but certainly not a thriller either.  I definately plan to continue listening to these! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19189842-bruno-chief-of-police 

The rest of my reading week has been rather uneventful.  I listened to the second in the Emmy Lake Chronicles https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55710565-yours-cheerfully and am hoping a third installment is coming soon!  I am part way through the latest Jane Yellowrock and loving it.  I am also reading the second Sparks and Bainbridge book  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49349790-a-royal-affair  Not sure what I think about it.......I have read too much Prince Phillip courts Elizabeth this year.

 

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Kareni

Kareni

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1 hour ago, SKL said:

I have lots of other reading materials on my list of things to read soon, but they aren't really what I'd call "books."

Bringing this over from the old thread because you've made me curious about those other reading materials. Manuals? Tax documents? Cookbooks?

4 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

@Robin M- I feel awful with my amount of flounder. I have such good books on my TBR shelf; books that were gifts and the givers have asked how I've enjoyed the books or are wondering when I'm going to finish the book. It's awful when the giver lives with me and I can't hide that I haven't read the book yet.

DS is moving to his new job about 4 hours away this weekend and, now that he'll be settled with his first real career move, maybe I can relax a bit.

Best wishes to your son with his new job!

Regards,

Kareni

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SKL

SKL

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8 minutes ago, Kareni said:

Bringing this over from the old thread because you've made me curious about those other reading materials. Manuals? Tax documents? Cookbooks?

Best wishes to your son with his new job!

Regards,

Kareni

How-to type books organized by brief topic, magazines, flyers/list type documents ....

(Sorry for posting in the old thread!)

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Kareni

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Some bookish posts ~


The Strange History of the Worst Sentence in English Literature by APRIL SNELLINGS

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/651542/dark-and-stormy-night-worst-sentence-history-literature

LOVE IN THE BOOKSHOP: A MYSTERY WRITER'S ODE TO BOOKSTORE ROMANCES

https://crimereads.com/love-in-the-bookshop-a-mystery-writers-ode-to-bookstore-romances/

The Libraries of Who We Are by Molly Templeton

https://www.tor.com/2021/09/30/the-libraries-of-who-we-are/

Regards,

Kareni

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Kareni

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I recently finished Someone to Cherish (The Westcott Series Book 8) by Mary Balogh. I came very close to abandoning the book in chapter one; however, I'm glad that I continued on as I did enjoy it. Why did I almost give it up? You may notice that this is book eight in a series and each book features a different couple in the greater Westcott family; I've read several of the earlier books. Chapter one featured a huge crowd from those earlier books plotting the hero's future; all were named (there must have been two dozen or more) and it was tiresome. My suggestion if you read this book is to begin with chapter two.

"When Harry Westcott lost the title Earl of Riverdale after the discovery of his father's bigamy, he shipped off to fight in the Napoleonic Wars, where he was near-fatally wounded. After a harrowing recovery, the once cheery, light-hearted boy has become a reclusive, somber man. Though Harry insists he enjoys the solitude, he does wonder sometimes if he is lonely.

Lydia Tavernor, recently widowed, dreams of taking a lover. Her marriage to Reverend Isaiah Tavernor was one of service and obedience, and she has secretly enjoyed her freedom since his death. She doesn't want to shackle herself to another man in marriage, but sometimes, she wonders if she is lonely. 

Both are unwilling to face the truth until they find themselves alone together one night, and Lydia surprises even herself with a simple question: "Are you ever lonely?" Harry's answer leads them down a path neither could ever have imagined..."

Regards,

Kareni

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mumto2

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@KareniI recently read Someone to Cherish also.  I have to admit I normally really like the catch ups with all the other characters from previous books in a series.  That said, I remember it taking long than normal to figure out exactly who the main male lead was in this book and finding it frustrating.  I needed her to just spell it out that he was the illegitimate Duke who went off to war on page one!  If she did I missed it and was pretty irritated with the book in the first few pages too.  I normally just put hold’s on new Mary Balogh books and never read the descriptions so I need help in the first couple of pages.

In listening news I finished Val McDermid’s 1979 last night.  It was great bit a Scottish history wrapped up in a mystery.  It managed to deliver a lot of info about the lead up to the 1980 devolution vote in Scotland in an on the ground sort of way. I didn’t bother fact checking because Val McDermid wrote this! Sort of a gritty book featuring two young reporters who bonded together to move up in the Publishing world.  That said the minute one character was introduced my gut knew how it was going to end.  I gave it a 4* which was potentially unfair because I figured the mystery out right off!  As in before the murder ever happened.  It was a powerful read but it likely might be my Brit side showing in that rec.  I really like Val McDermid.

 

 

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mumto2

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6 hours ago, Kareni said:

@mumto2, it's good to know that I wasn't the only one having issues! I've put a hold on Balogh's upcoming book, so it clearly hasn't turned me away from her writings.

Happy reading ~

Regards,

Kareni

I have a hold on the new one too!  She is going to run out of family members to marry off soon!😉

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Robin M

Robin M

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Reading a new to me author – Natasha Lester’s The Riviera House which is set in two time frames and is about wwII and the French resistance.  Combines history and art which are two things I love to read about.  Enjoying it so far.

“Paris, 1939: The Nazis think Éliane can’t understand German. They’re wrong. They think she’s merely cataloging art in the Louvre and unaware they’re stealing national treasures for their private collections. They have no idea she’s carefully decoding their notes and smuggling information to the Resistance. But Éliane is playing a dangerous game. Does she dare trust the man she once loved with her secrets, or will he only betray her once again? She has no way to know for certain . . . until a trip to a stunning home on the French Riviera brings a whole new level of peril.

Present Day: Wanting to forget the tragedy that has left her life in shambles, Remy Lang heads to a home she’s mysteriously inherited on the Riviera. While working on her vintage fashion business, she discovers a catalog of the artworks stolen during World War II and is shocked to see a painting that hung on her childhood bedroom wall. Who is her family, really? And does the Riviera house hold more secrets than Remy is ready to face?”

 

Read Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale a few years back and that one was both haunting and beautiful and well worth reading.

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Robin M

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On 11/7/2021 at 1:26 AM, Negin said:

Thanks for the thread, Robin! You mentioned New York City. In my review of "How to Relax", I also mentioned visiting one of my favorite bookstores there. 

I read What Now? - 2 Stars

and

How to Relax - 5 Stars

Love the cartoon. Made me giggle. Sounds like a delightful store and if I ever get a chance to go back to New York, will have to do a tour of book stores.  Loved your reviews and highlights from How to Relax.   Appreciate the present and live in the present are two very important things. I think that’s what my dream was telling me last night.  One of those, trying to get back to where I started dreams, ignoring all around me in the effort to get there.  It’s the journey, not the ending that matters.

On 11/7/2021 at 5:00 AM, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I feel awful with my amount of flounder. I have such good books on my TBR shelf; books that were gifts and the givers have asked how I've enjoyed the books or are wondering when I'm going to finish the book. It's awful when the giver lives with me and I can't hide that I haven't read the book yet.

It's okay. I'm sure they understand.   My hubby once gave me a 1200 page independently published snoozer and I read it. So I'm off the hook for have you read it yet with any of the other books he's given me.  😁

On 11/7/2021 at 6:43 AM, mumto2 said:

I finally discovered the charms of Bruno the French policeman this week!  I listened to it and fell in love with a little village in the Dordogne region of France in the touristy area near the Lascaux cave paintings.  The book painted a beautiful picture until a horrorific crime happened and a Muslim immigrant war hero is murdered.  Quite a bit of interesting French history is mentioned.....even a bit about the French Foreign legion.  Not cozy really but certainly not a thriller either.  I definately plan to continue listening to these! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19189842-bruno-chief-of-police 

 Sounds right up my alley. Will have to check it out.

 

On 11/7/2021 at 5:06 PM, Mothersweets said:

I listened to The Good Lord Bird by James McBride and loved it! The narrator is terrific and made me enjoy the story in a way that I don't think I would have if I had read it. I'm now thinking of watching the series that was released sometime last year, I think? 

Oh! Sounds like an interesting book! 

On 11/8/2021 at 4:43 PM, Kareni said:

I recently finished Someone to Cherish (The Westcott Series Book 8) by Mary Balogh. I came very close to abandoning the book in chapter one; however, I'm glad that I continued on as I did enjoy it. Why did I almost give it up? You may notice that this is book eight in a series and each book features a different couple in the greater Westcott family; I've read several of the earlier books. Chapter one featured a huge crowd from those earlier books plotting the hero's future; all were named (there must have been two dozen or more) and it was tiresome. My suggestion if you read this book is to begin with chapter two.

Added the first book to my wishlist.  Thanks for all the links!

 

 

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Negin

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3 hours ago, Robin M said:

if I ever get a chance to go back to New York, will have to do a tour of book stores.  Loved your reviews and highlights from How to Relax.   Appreciate the present and live in the present are two very important things. I think that’s what my dream was telling me last night.  One of those, trying to get back to where I started dreams, ignoring all around me in the effort to get there.  It’s the journey, not the ending that matters.

Robin, my daughter and I always make an effort to look up bookstores before visiting a new place. I think we're extra-motivated since we don't have any real bookstores where we live. I hope that you get to visit NYC again, or at least some lovely bookstores. 

Thank you for your kind words. I really love how you put it - your last sentence in particular. Such a good reminder to us all. That book is the type that I'll be re-reading all the time. 

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Kareni

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Last night I finished rereading Carla Kelly's Christmas Collection which I enjoyed once again.

"Come explore Regency London with Carla Kelly! This collection features four stories that will warm your heart with Christmas cheer: “The Christmas Ornament,” “Make a Joyful Noise,” “An Object of Charity,” and “The Three Kings.” Filled with romance and a touch of humor, these stories are sure to find a place in your heart and remind you that Christmas is a time for love."

The description above is inaccurate as most of the stories do not take place in London at all. In fact, the final story takes place in Spain!

Regards,

Kareni

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