Sunday, August 27, 2023

A Bunch of Books

 

What I've been reading...

A Room With a View by E. M. Forster

The Maid by Nita Prose

Circe by Madeline Miller

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation & Book Lovers by Emily Henry

The Enigma of Garlic by Alexander McCall Smith

A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich


The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

The Appeal and The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

All the Queen's Men by S J Bennett

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey by Serena Burdick

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Smile Beach Murder & Murder on Mustang Beach by Alicia Bessette

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Agatha Christie, Marple...Twelve New Stories by Twelve Authors:)



Friday, September 9, 2022

2022 So Far


 I know I'm missing a few, but here's the list for now:

The English Spy by Daniel Silva

Love in the Time of Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

Cover Her Face
A Mind to Murder
Unnatural Causes
Death of an Expert Witness
Shroud for a Nightingale
The Black Tower
by P. D. James

Red Notice
Freezing Order
by Bill Browder
(VERY pertinent to what's going on with Russia right now.)

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

The Joy and Light Bus Company by Alexander McCall Smith

The Club by Ellery Lloyd

A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky


Thursday, December 23, 2021

Merry Christmas!

 


Friday Night Lights
A Town, a Team, and a Dream
by H. G. Bissinger

Portuguese Irregular Verbs
by Alexander McCall Smith

The Butterfly House
by Katrine Engberg

The Windsor Knot
by S. J. Bennett

Reason to Kill
by Andy Weinberger

This Tender Land
by William Kent Krueger

The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman

Nine Perfect Strangers
by Liane Moriarty
(The book is good, the Netflix series not so much.)

The Consequences of Fear 
by Jacqueline Winspear


The Odor of Violets
by Baynard Kendrick

A Student of History
by Nina Revoyr

Vittoria Cottage
Winter and RoughWeather
Music in the Hills 
Spring Magic
by D. E. Stevenson

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
by Holly Jackson

Verity
by Colleen Hoover

Game On 
by Janet Evanovich

A Slow Fire Burning
by Paula Hawkins

Evvie Drake Starts Over
by Linda Holmes

The Madness of Crowds
by Louise Penny

Malibu Rising
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Man Who Died Twice
by Richard Osman

The Hollywood Spy 
by Susan Elia MacNeal













Wednesday, March 3, 2021

2021 So Far

 No matter what, you can always count on books.


American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Classic Fantasy mixing Americana and mythology.

Thanks for the gift, Pete!


Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

Read if you loved Jason Bourne.


Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little

Fascinating protagonist and a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood.

It ain't pretty.


A Promise of Ankles by Alexander McCall Smith

My favorite series by my favorite author.


A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

The latest Veronica Speedwell mystery.  LOVE.


One by One by Ruth Ware

Take this on a ski trip.  Heed any avalanche warnings.


How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith

Okay...all his books are my favorites.


Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

#27 in the Stephanie Plum series.  


The Guest List by Lucy Foley

A wedding on a remote island.  Guests keep dying.  It doesn't get any better!


Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (ie: JK Rowling)

Almost 1000 pages. Wish it were longer.


The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Give me a good mystery any day, especially involving the Mystery Queen.





Thursday, October 22, 2020

A Few for You

 


Enola Holmes for the Win!!
Watched Enola Holmes on Netflix and LOVED IT!!!
Did you know it was a young adult mystery series?
The six installments by Nancy Springer will delight readers of all ages.
Start with The Case of the Missing Marquess, finish with 
The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye.
Wish she had written more.


Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

Historical fiction of how the greatest Christmas story of all time 
came to be written.  Mostly fiction, but with a lot of true facts to make
it super interesting.  Be sure to read the author's notes at the end!


Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

I think Allie Brosh is a brilliant comedic writer.  She has also been 
through A LOT.  If you want to laugh, read this.  Also read 
if you need some perspective.  Either way, please read.










Monday, October 5, 2020

Baby, It Is NOT Cold Outside.

 Fall may be officially here, but it's hot as blazes in San Diego. Whatever the weather reading is always in season, so try curling up with one of these.


My daughter gave me Death in Provence by Serena Kent. Loved it, and was so happy to find a sequel, Death in Avignon. Made me want to hop on a plane to France.  Ate a croissant instead.


Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn

One of my favorite series.  Bernie and Chet rock!


Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Finally got to this one. Funny and heartbreaking at the same time.


The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  Read now.


Honolulu by Alan Brennert

Couldn't go to Hawaii. Almost the next best thing. Also, Molokai by Brennert is fantastic.


Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Issacson

Da Vinci was a true genius.  The book is long.  Still, worth the read.


All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

One of my favorite authors.  One of her best!  

Au Revoir for now...TBC



Tuesday, July 21, 2020

When All Else Fails, Take a Vacation - Betty Williams (If THAT Fails, Read a Book)

Some books to help escape this reality.


The Corfu Trilogy, etc. by Gerald Durrell

My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives
and The Garden of the Gods tell the story of the Durrell family's 
 life in Corfu from 1935 to 1939.  Told through the eyes of youngest son and budding naturalist Gerry, these laugh-out-loud funny and completely charming memoirs will leave you wanting more.  Which you can get as he wrote about 40 books.  Menagerie Manor tells some of his 
adventures establishing the Jersey Zoo, and The Durrells of Corfu by Michael Haag 
gives a closer look at the real Durrells, how they came to Corfu and where they went when 
WWII ended their Greek Island Life.  If you can, watch "The Durrells in Corfu" on PBS Masterpiece.
We loved every minute of that binge!


The Veronica Speedwell Mysteries
by Deanna Raybourn

In Victorian England at the end of the 19th century, scientist and butterfly expert Veronica Speedwell  along with her super hot partner/pirate-in-crime take on the bad guys in this delightful series.
I read the first four in a flash, but I'm waiting for the fifth to come out in paperback. The sixth is 
coming  in 2021.


The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Good story telling, but it gave me nightmares. A little too Southern Gothic for me.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
I always love a good Agatha Christie-ish plot!

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
Very interesting and based on a real event.

The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Short stories of the lives of Vietnam refugees mostly in Southern California.
Written by a USC professor who was a refugee himself and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his 
debut novel The Sympathizer.  Fight On!!

The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe
Illuminating and entertaining.  You can't go wrong with anything Mike Rowe.
Based on his podcast.

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
The true story of an American woman who effectively ran the French Resistance of Lyon 
during WWII. Oh, and she had one leg. Read and be amazed by her accomplishments.

Count your blessings and read more books!

TBC