Rose City Reader: 2024

Thursday, July 25, 2024

The Widow on Dwyer Court by Lisa Kusel -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

The Widow on Dwyer Court by Lisa Kusel

I am so amped up to start writing book two in my Strong Lust series that I jump out of bed before the alarm rings, brew a batch of coffee, then lock myself in my office.

-- from The Widow on Dwyer Court by Lisa Kusel, a new "sexy, phycological thriller."

I loved Lisa Kusel's heartfelt, charming, and funny memoir Rash about moving her family to Bali. So when I saw she has a new book out, I snapped it up. By the way, check out my interview with Lisa about Rash -- it will make you want to read that one too!

The premise of The Widow on Dwyer Court didn't appeal to me, I admit. The main character is a "soccer mom" in a sexless marriage who writes erotic romance novels. I was worried there was too little sex on the one hand and too much o the other. But I read the reviews on amazon and was convinced to give it a try. For one thing, the "erotic" bits are not over the top. Some books require a higher level of "suspension of disbelief," but in the hands of a good writer can pull you right into that world. Looks like this one will do just that.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from The Widow on Dwyer Court:

Just for the heck of it, I opened the website for the coroner's office and see that autopsy reports in Colorado are public records. I fill in the blanks and hit SEND.

Oooooo. I like this! I always enjoy a little interned sleuthing.

FROM THE PUCBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Thirty-six-year-old stay-at-home soccer mom Kate Burke is happily married to Matt Parsons, although their marriage looks very different behind closed doors. Kate is no longer interested in having sex with her husband, so, while they still love each other madly, they make an arrangement: Matt can have one-night stands with other women on work trips, but when he returns home, he has to tell Kate about them--every juicy detail.

Because Kate has a secret life writing erotic romance novels, and Matt's adulterous affairs are her bread and butter.

The family equilibrium is upset, however, when Annie Meyers, an eccentric young widow, moves to town with her daughter. At first, Kate is smitten with this wild, witty woman, who gives her a much-needed break from the other picture-perfect suburban moms, although she's not sure how much of her secret life she's willing to share with her new friend. But, it turns out Annie has secrets too--big ones that could destroy all their lives.

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a granite sky and a mizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o’clock in the afternoon the pallor of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, cloaking them in mist.

-- from Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier. I offer the opening two sentences because the first sentence, on its own, is pretty boring. But that second sentence really sets a scene!

Jamaica Inn is one of my favorite books and probably my favorite du Maurier books (although there are many runners-up). It's such a wild tale of smugglers and wreckers on the Cornish coast.

I'm not reading it right now, having read it last year with my Du Maurier Deep Dive group on Instagram. But I was organizing my bookshelves and this fabulous cover caught my eye.

Are you a fan of du Maurier? Do you have a favorite?

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

This was at any rate Mary's hope, and meanwhile she must make the best of the grim six months that lay ahead, and, if possible, she was determined to have the better of her uncle in the long run, and expose him and his confederates to the law. She would have shrugged her shoulders at smuggling alone, though the flagrant dishonesty of the trade disgusted her, but all she had seen so far went to prove that Joss Merlyn and his friends were not content with this only; they were desperate men, afraid of nothing and no one, and did not stop at murder.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

On a bitter November evening, young Mary Yellan journeys across the rainswept moors to Jamaica Inn in honor of her mother's dying request. When she arrives, the warning of the coachman begins to echo in her memory, for her aunt Patience cowers before hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn. Terrified of the inn's brooding power, Mary gradually finds herself ensnared in the dark schemes being enacted behind its crumbling walls -- and tempted to love a man she dares not trust.

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Seven Deadly Sins -- BOOK THOUGHTS

BOOK THOUGHTS

Seven Deadly Sins

There is a "Seven Deadly Sins" challenge that periodically buzzes around Bookstagram. It caught my eye the other day and was just the inspiration I needed to try something creative.

What "sinful" books are hiding on your shelves? Here's my collection:

PRIDE: a big or challenging book

The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats. It took me years to get through this poetical doorstop. I struggled with a lot of the poems, especially the earlier ones. But I am proud to have accomplished the task of finally finishing it.

GREED: a book you own in more than one edition

Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh. I love Waugh, Graham Greene, and Kingsley Amis and have several duplicate editions of their books because I pick them up when I find an unusually nifty edition. Same goes for Agatha Christy, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, and a few other classic authors. And I confess to owning several copies of Wind in the Willows.

LUST: a book you bought for its cover

A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict by John Baxter. I didn’t actually buy this myself, but my friend saw the lust in my eyes when I found it and she bought it for me as a surprise.

WRATH: a book you did not enjoy

The Magus by John Fowles. I have enormous tolerance for most books, but this one – NO! I always identify it as my least favorite book. Pompous nitwits running around a stupid island playing games with each other! And all the time spouting humanistic gobblygook about the death of God, or whatever they were prattling on about. I was shocked to find it hiding on my shelf because I thought I gave it away years ago.

GLUTTONY: a book you would reread

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. I’ve only recently started rereading and have so many I’d like to revisit. This one is near the top of my list and was first to hand. My book club read it about ten years ago, on my suggestion, and most people didn't like it. I did and it is a classic Golden Age mystery. I'd like to read it again.

ENVY: a book you’d want to live in

All in One Basket: Nest Eggs by Deborah Devonshire. Debo was the youngest of the Mitford Sisters and my favorite. Ever since I read her memoir, Wait for Me! I've wanted to be her. I have this one and a couple of other book by or about her to feed my fantasy.

SLOTH: a book that’s been on your TBR shelf forever

The Country Girls Trilogy by Edna O’Brien. There are over 2,000 books on my TBR shelves, so I didn’t even try to find the one that’s been there the longest. There are some that have been there since I was in college in the 1980s! This one calls the loudest to me.

NOTES

If you like the idea of this challenge, please play along, on your blog or social media. If you've already done it, please let me know. Either way, please leave a comment with a link to your post so I can find it.

Saturday, July 13, 2024

Pocketful of Poseys by Thomas Reed -- BOOK REVIEW

BOOK REVIEW

Pocketful of Poseys by Thomas Reed (Beaufort Books, 2023)

Pocketful of Poseys is a warmhearted family story about a brother and sister charged with scattering their mother Cinny's ashes. The catch is that Cinny wanted her ashes mixed with the ashes of her husband, their father, and scattered in five different places around the world. She also left the money to finance the trip.

Grace and Brian, 40-something twins, head off with spouses and children on a round-the-world adventure, only opening their mother's instruction letters as they go. Through the letters and the travel they inspire, brother and sister learn the secrets of their parents' marriage, explore their own pasts, and forge stronger bonds with their own families.

I found the story easy to engage with and I cared for the characters. I enjoy stories abut families learning to accept and forgive, especially when livened up with a little humor, like this one is.

I though the pacing was a little uneven. There ae two big digressions early on, one providing Cinny's backstory, the other Brian's. I found both distracting because they abruptly pulled me out of the narrative. Then I anticipated the same sort of digression for Grace and the other characters, and I got distracted waiting for those to pop up, which they never did. This lack of similar treatment for the other characters made the first backstory digressions stand out as clunky info-dumps. I particularly missed more information about their father. There are a couple of hints that his death might have been more sinister than a winter car crash, but we get no answers. Again, compared to the almost exhaustive detail we learn about Cinny's past, this disparate treatment stood out.

Still, I really liked the book. Thomas Reed's writing style is smooth and lively, a real pleasure to read. Highly recommended.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Grace Tingley and Brian Posey are forty-something twins whose lives have gone in very different directions. Grace, now a private school teacher in coastal Connecticut, was a PhD candidate at Yale when an unexpected pregnancy threw her plans into a tailspin. Brian, an adventure travel executive in Seattle, barely scraped through an obscure New England college and recently married Ella, after three years in an intimate relationship with a charismatic man from Jamaica.

When their widowed mother Cinny, a charter member of Woodstock Nation, is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Grace and Brian are there for her last days in hospice care. This is where Cinny reveals her staggering plan for the siblings: They’re to sprinkle her ashes, mixed with their father’s, at a series of exotic locations around the globe—some remote, some challengingly public, all known and loved by the Poseys.

NOTE

I got a review copy of Pocketful of Poseys through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. My copy was free, in exchange for my honest review.

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

When Guy Crouchback's grandparents, Gervase and Hermione, came to Italy on their honeymoon, French troops manned the defenses of Rome, the Sovereign Pontiff drove out in an open carriage and Cardinals took their exercise side-saddle on the Pincian Hill.

-- Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh. I like long opening sentences like this, even when they set the mood, not the actual scene. This is a book about Guy's experience in the British Army during WWII, not the story of his grandparents. So we quickly move from a brief family history to Guy's story. Still, the first sentence pulled me into the story.

Men at Arms is the first book in Waugh's WWII "Sword of Honour" trilogy (Sword of Honor for those of us who use American spelling). It is followed by Officers and Gentlemen and The End of the Battle (Unconditional Surrender in it's canonical, UK title). I'm reading the trilogy with a group of Waugh fans on Instagram. We are working our way through all his books. The trilogy is also on my Classics Club II list.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

The three probationary Halberdiers stood back for the ladies to pass and followed them through the garden-gate with adolescent misgivings and there before them unmistakably, separated from them only by the plate-glass of the drawing-room window, stood Lieutenant-Colonel, shortly to be gazetted Brigadier, Ritchie-Hook glaring out at them balefully with a single, terrible eye. It was black as the brows above it, this eye, black as the patch which hung on the other side of the lean skew nose.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

"An eminently readable comedy of modern war" (New York Times), Men at Arms is the first novel in Evelyn Waugh's brilliant Sword of Honor trilogy.

Guy Crouchback, determined to get into the war, takes a commission in the Royal Corps of Halberdiers. His spirits high, he sees all the trimmings but none of the action. And his first campaign, an abortive affair on the West African coastline, ends with an escapade that seriously blots his Halberdier copybook.

Thursday, June 27, 2024

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.

-- Brighton Rock by Graham Greene. Wow, that's some opening sentence! It sure got my attention.

Graham Greene is one of my very favorite authors. He left a legacy of 26 novels (including two early ones that he “repudiated” and haven’t been in print since), several volumes of short stories, poetry, plays, screenplays, autobiographies, travel books, essays, criticism, two biographies, general nonfiction, and even children’s books.

I haven’t come close to reading, or even collecting, all of Greene’s books. I would like to read at least all his (existing) fiction. So far, I’ve read 11 of his novels and short story collections and one book of travel writing.

One of my favorite Greene quotes is:

One’s life is more formed, I sometimes think, by books than by human beings: it is out of books one learns about love and pain at second hand. Even if we have the happy chance to fall in love, it is because we have been conditioned by what we have read . . .

 ― from Travels with My Aunt

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

She didn't even know the name of a drink. In Nelson Place from which she had emerged like a mole into the daylight of Snow's restaurant and the Palace Pier, she had never known a boy with enough money to offer her a drink.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Graham Greene's chilling exposé of violence and gang warfare in the pre-war underworld is a classic of its kind. Pinkie, a teenage gangster on the rise, is devoid of compassion or human feeling, despising weakness of both the spirit and the flesh. Responsible for the razor slashes that killed mob boss Kite and also for the death of Hale, a reporter who threatened the livelihood of the mob, Pinkie is the embodiment of calculated evil. As a Catholic, however, Pinkie is convinced that his retribution does not lie in human hands. He is therefore not prepared for Ida Arnold, Hale's avenging angel.

Thursday, June 20, 2024

The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope

MY BOOK BEGINNING

It was admitted by all her friends, and also by her enemies,—who were in truth the more numerous and active body of the two,—that Lizzie Greystock had done very well with herself.

-- from The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope. This is the third book in Trollope's "Palliser Novels" series. Unlike the others in the six-novel series, The Eustace Diamonds has little to do with Parliament or the characters in the other books. There is overlap, but this one stands on its own.

I'm reading this one, and the other Palliser books for a group read on Instagram. This is the only one of the six that I've read before. I greatly enjoyed it when I read it about 20 years ago and am loving the reread. This time, I'm reading it with my ears.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

Mr. Camperdown's first attempt was made by a most courteous and even complimentary note, in which he suggested to Lady Eustace that it would be for the advantage of all parties that the family jewels should be kept together. Lizzie as she read this note smiled, and said to herself that she did not exactly see how her own interests would be best served by such an arrangement.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Following the death of her husband Sir Florian, beautiful Lizzie Eustace mysteriously comes into possession of a hugely expensive diamond necklace. She maintains it was a gift from her husband, but the Eustace lawyers insist she give it up, and while her cousin Frank takes her side, her new lover Lord Fawn states that he will only marry her if the necklace is surrendered. As gossip and scandal intensify, Lizzie's truthfulness is thrown into doubt, and, in her desire to keep the jewels, she is driven to increasingly desperate acts. The third in Trollope's Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds bears all the hallmarks of his later works, blending dark cynicism with humour and a keen perception of human nature.

Thursday, June 13, 2024

Show Game by Steve Anderson -- Book Beginning

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Show Game by Steve Anderson

I have the bastard, finally, I got him. Target number one.

-- from Show Game by Steve Anderson.

I'm a big fan of Steve Anderson's "Kaspar Brothers" series of WWII/Cold War thrillers. His new novel, Show Game, is a departure from the series. It is a modern-day psychological thriller about a vigilante targeting wrongdoers, starting with a pedophile priest. It looks pretty dark, but good!

Of course, Show Game caught my attention right away because of the priest angle. I've spent the last 18 years doing nothing but going after pedophiles and the institutions that harbored them. I've used the courts, not kidnapping, but I admit I can understand the vigilante idea.

Show Game launches in July, but is available for pre-order now.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

-- from Show Game:

There's no actual timer counting down but it's not a bad idea. Maybe in a future production.

This is going to be exciting!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

The pandemic may be over, but the world is not safe for those who prey on the innocent. A vigilante known by the alias "Alex" knows what these transgressors have done. And taking them captive is only the first step toward vengeance. In order to be set free, they must first play the Show Game . . .

A predatory priest, a double-dealing politician, a fraudulent philanthropist--Alex has ways of making them confess, on camera, for all the world to witness. But the Show Game is building toward a darkly personal finale: exposing society's most notorious and evil abuser.

As Alex gets closer to the main event, investigative reporter Owen Tanaka is determined to unmask the vigilante's true identity and motive. But when a shocking revelation hits close to home, Owen must decide whether to stop a criminal mastermind's devious scheme . . . or let the Show Game play its final round.

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Real Tigers by Mick Herron -- BOOK BEGINNING

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Real Tigers by Mick Herron

-- from Real Tigers by Mick Herron, book three in his Slough House series.

I just finished this one and loved it. The plots are intricate (sometimes confusingly so) and the characters are so wonderfully flawed. Jackson Lamb, the leader of the Slow Horses, says the most outrageous stuff!

I've been trying to read as many of the series as I can before I start watching the tv show. That hasn't been difficult because The Tourist kept me enthralled for a couple of weeks, between seasons of Justified. We just started season four of Justified, so I still have time to read more of the Herron books.

Have you read any of the Slough House books? Or watched the tv show?

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

On the move, walking faster, she found her phone, re-called Lamb, and went straight to voicemail again. Disconnecting, she once more considered knocking on a stranger’s door: but then what?

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

When one of their own is kidnapped, the washed-up MI5 operatives of Slough House—the Slow Horses, as they're known—outwit rogue agents at the very highest levels of British Intelligence, and even to Downing Street itself.

London: Slough House is the MI5 branch where disgraced operatives are reassigned after they’ve messed up too badly to be trusted with real intelligence work. The “Slow Horses,” as the failed spies of Slough House are called, are doomed to spend the rest of their careers pushing paper, but they all want back in on the action.

Saturday, June 1, 2024

12 Books Soon -- BOOK THOUGHTS

BOOK THOUGHTS

12 Books Soon!

This was a hair on fire week for me with work. The deadline in the Boy Scout bankruptcy to file all claims on behalf of sexual abuse survivors was May 31. I am happy to say that we now have everything filed on behalf of our 69 clients with claims, but it was insane getting it all done.

I don't have the capacity to actually concentrate on a book, but I am unwinding by playing with my books. Here are twelve books I am either currently reading or hope to get to soon, which puts them on my TBR ASAP list.

See anything here you’ve read or would like to?

Warming Up Julia Child: The Remarkable Figures Who Shaped a Legend by Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz. I bought this at the Smithsonian when I was there recently, after I finally visited Julia Child’s kitchen. I just finished it this morning. Read my thoughts, here.

The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope. I'm in a Palliser Readalong group on Instagram and this is the next up in the series. It is the only book in the series that I've read before -- two times in fact -- but I am looking forward to reading it again, in context and with a discussion group.

The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene. This novella (and a short story I can’t remember) are included in my Folio edition of The Third Man, which I read last month. I want to finish off the short pieces so I can move this book off my TBR shelf.

The Light of Day by Eric Ambler. I’m listening to the audiobook of this one, which won the Edgar Award for best mystery in 1964. It is funny, exciting, and quirky. This is the first Eric Ambler book I've read but it won't be the last.

Lines of Deception by Steve Anderson, the latest in his Kaspar Brothers series of WWII/Cold War thrillers.

Last Chance in Paris by Lynda Marron. I am particularly excited to read this one so bought a copy from Blackwell's because it isn't available from US sellers yet.

Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead. This is the third book in his series of historical, locked room mysteries featuring retired conjurer Joseph Spector. I was fortunate to get my hands on a review copy, but wanted to read the first two in the series before this one. I just finished the others and am looking forward to this one.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. A friend gave me this and I want to read it so we can talk about it.

The Messenger by Megan Davis. This is a review copy that I forgot about and am now burdened by guilt I haven’t read it yet.

Hanging the Devil by Tim Maleeny is another one! I made a stack of these and then forgot them. This one, about an audacious heist from a San Francisco museum, sounds great!

J by Howard Jacobson is next up on my TBR 24 in '24 list. Jacobson is one of my favorite authors, so I expect I will love it even though I am not a big fan of dystopian novels as a rule.

The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy is another gift from a friend. I just can't decide if I should read the earlier books before this one.

How was your week? Better than mine, I hope! Here's to a relaxing weekend!

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Warming Up Julia Child: The Remarkable Figures Who Shaped a Legend by Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz -- BOOK BEGINNING

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Warming Up Julia Child: The Remarkable Figures Who Shaped a Legend by Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Julia Child was a person of great intelligence, drive, and accomplishment, but she did not work and achieve alone. This is a book about friendship and collaboration.

-- from Warming Up Julia Child: The Remarkable Figures Who Shaped a Legend by Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz.

Last week, I finally visited the Smithsonian Museum of US History and saw Julia Child's kitchen. I'm a huge Julia Child fan, so this visit has been high on my list for a long time. It was well worth it. Very cool!

I bought this book at the Smithsonian gift shop and started it immediately, I've read many books by and about Julia Child. This one is a little repetitive -- they all are -- but it focusses on the people who helped Child create and launch Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her tv show, The French Chef. The author draws heavily from archived primary sources, mostly personal correspondence. It makes me feel like I was right there with Child and her team of helpers. I love it.

I'm not so keen on the title, but that doesn't detract from the book. To me, Warming Up Julia Child sounds like she's leftovers. Or was left out in the cold.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

After apologizing that she, not Bernard, was writing in thanks, Avis [DeVoto] stated, “I am green with envy at your chance to study French cooking.” With this she opened the conversation that the two would sustain for as long as Avis lived.

This book makes me long for the days of letter writing! The speed and convenience of email has cost us a valuable historic record.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Warming Up Julia Child is behind-the-scenes look at this supporting team, revealing how the savvy of these helpers, collaborators, and supporters contributed to Julia's overwhelming success.

Julia is the central subject, but Helen Horowitz has her share the stage with those who aided her work. She reveals that the most important element in Julia Child’s ultimate success was her unusual capacity for forming fruitful alliances, whether it was Paul Child, Simone Beck, Avis DeVoto, Judith Jones and William Koshland (at Knopf), and Ruth Lockwood (at WGBH). Without the contribution of these six collaborators Julia could never have accomplished what she did.

Filled with vivid correspondence, fascinating characters, and the iconic joie de vivre that makes us come back to Julia again and again, Warming Up Julia Child is essential reading for anyone who adores Julia and her legacy.

Lost & Found: Public Theology in a Secular Age by Michael A. Milton -- BOOK BEGINNING

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY

Lost & Found: Public Theology in a Secular Age by Michael A. Milton

Some argue the case from anecdotal evidence and others from social research.

— from the author's introduction to Lost & Found: Public Theology in the Secular Age by Michael A. Milton (2024, WIPF and Stock Publishers).

The content of Lost & Found: Public Theology in the Secular Age is presented with a primary concern for the glory of God and the good of His creation.

—from the author's Preface.

The Lord instructed Isaiah to cry aloud and spare not: the truth of God applied to the presenting issues in the most public form possible.

— from chapter one, Cry Aloud and Spare Not: The Meaning of Public Theology and the Secular Age.

I gave three teasers from the beginning of this book to try to introduce it properly. Lost & Found is a new nonfiction book aimed theologians — pastors, professors, seminary students, etc. Still, even though the target audience may be professionals, or professionals in training, it is interesting for any Christian looking for a biblical response to social issues.

The book sounds interesting to me, so I am happy to get a review copy. My first step was to look up what "public theology" means because it is not a term I am familiar with. The clearest definition google found for me says public theology is "a critical reflection on faith and its implications for society." Wikipedia has a pretty good article explaining public theology.

Michael A. Milton is a Presbyterian minister, retired US Army Chaplain, professor, and author. Lost & Found also includes contributions from theologians John Frame, George Grant, Peter Lillback, and John Panagiotou.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

MY FRIDAY 56

—from Lost & Found:

Economics and the pursuit of monetary gain have become idols and an end unto themselves. The Church Fathers, earlier, and Calvin, later, taught economics and wealth-building as a means to the end of advancing the Kingdom of God.

Food for thought, for sure!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

No one doubts we have quickly moved to what Charles Taylor called "a secular age." How do Christian pastors, professors, seminary students, and others respond to the myriad issues now facing the Body of Christ? Following on a biblical and reformed understanding of public theology, Milton along with trusted theologians . . . not only provide biblical responses to the issues of our time but in doing so give the Church a method, a way, to conduct faithful Gospel ministry in an increasingly hostile post-Christian world. A must for classes on ethics, sociology of religion, pastoral theology, and serious-minded Christians seeking insight that they might "Understand of the times."

Thursday, May 23, 2024

A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

MY BOOK BEGINNING

She only waned to get out of town.

-- from A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable.

That's an appropriate Book Beginning for me because I took this book out of town with me. It is about an art appraiser (specializing in antique furniture) sent to Paris to value an apartment full of old furniture and art. The apartment had been locked up for 70 years, owned by someone who didn't live in Paris. When she died, her heir called in the appraisers to prepare the contents for auction. This was a good pick for my trip because I'm in Washington, DC, visiting a lot of museums, and seeing a lot of art.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

-- from A Paris Apartment:

Marthe's flat was so thick with museum-quality furnishings one could hardly walk through without stumbling. April's flat was so sparse she wondered if there were enough places to rest both her backside and her computer simultaneously.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

April Vogt, Sotheby's continental furniture specialist, is speechless when a Paris apartment shuttered for seventy years is discovered in the ninth arrondissement. Beneath the cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine, and not because of the actual gold (or painted ostrich eggs or mounted rhinoceros horns or bronze bathtub). First, there's a portrait by one of the masters of the Belle Epoque, Giovanni Boldini. And then there are letters and journals written by the very woman in the painting, Marthe de Florian. These documents reveal that she was more than a renowned courtesan with enviable decolletage. Suddenly April's quest is no longer about the bureaux plats and Louis-style armchairs that will fetch millions at auction. It's about discovering the story behind this charismatic woman.

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Riders by Jilly Cooper -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Riders by Jilly Cooper

Because he had to get up unusually early on Saturday, Jake Lovell kept waking up throughout the night, racked by terrifying dreams about being late.

-- from Riders by Jilly Cooper. We can all relate to that opening sentence!

I had never heard of Jilly Cooper until I saw this cover on Instagram last week. It is one to catch the eye! I went down a Jilly Cooper rabbit hole and can't believe the fun I've been missing. Her books sound like pure, escapist fun, especially the Rutshire Chronicles series, of which Riders is the first of 11. Riders was first published in 1985, but not with this racy cover from the 2015 reissue.

You can buy Riders on the US amazon site, but it is expensive. I got this brand new copy from Blackwell's Books in England for a very reasonable price, including free delivery to the US. And it got here in about a week.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

The hostess was kind, but too distraught about gate crashers to introduce Tory to more than two young men, who both, as usual, danced one dance, then led her back and propped her against a pillar like an old umbrella, pretending they were just off to get her a drink or had to dance with their hostess. Thinking about Jake non-stop didn't insulate her from the misery of it all.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Set against the glorious Cotswold countryside and the playgrounds of the world, Jilly Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles . . . offer an intoxicating blend of skulduggery, swooning romance, sexual adventure and hilarious high jinks.

Riders, the first and steamiest in the series, takes the lid off international showjumping, a sport where the brave horses are almost human, but the humans behave like animals.

Thursday, May 9, 2024

The Royal Secret by Lucinda Riley -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

The Royal Secret by Lucinda Riley

"James, darling, what are you doing?"

-- from The Royal Secret by Lucinda Riley. I have not read her books before, but this one looks like a fun adventure involving the Royal Family. Although I admit the opening sentence is a little unsettling for me because my husband's name is James. What's going to happen?

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

The next was a large, creased brown envelope, addressed in spidery writing so indecipherable she was amazed it had even reached her. She tore it open and took out its contents.

That's a good tease! I can't wait to find out what's in the letter!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTIONWhen Sir James Harrison, one the greatest actors of his generation, passes away at the age of ninety-five, he leaves behind not just a heartbroken family but also a secret so shocking, it could rock the English establishment to its core.

Joanna Haslam, an up-and-coming reporter, is assigned to cover the legendary actor’s funeral, attended by glitzy celebrities of every background. But Joanna stumbles on something dark beneath the glamour: the mention of a letter James Harrison has left behind—the contents of which many have been desperate to keep concealed for over seventy years. As she peels back the veil of lies that has shrouded the secret, she realizes that she’s close to uncovering something deadly serious—and the royal family may be implicated. Before long, someone is on her tracks, attempting to prevent her from discovering the truth. And they’ll stop at nothing to reach the letter before she does.

Thursday, May 2, 2024

Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwilliams van de Wettering -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS

Outsider In Amsterdam by Janwilliams van de Wettering

The Volkswagen was parked on the wide sidewalk of the Haarlemmer Houttuinen, opposite number 5, and it was parked the way it shouldn't be parked.

-- from Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwilliams van de Wettering. I love Soho Press's "Soho Crimes" imprint because they specialize in mystery series set in different countries. I also love the candy colored spines. Whenever I find any at library friends shops or the like, I snap them up, especially if, like this one, they are the first book in a series. My dream is to one day read all the Soho Crime books I collected, straight through.

This book is the first in the Grijpstra & DeGier series, also known as the Amsterdam Cops series, probably because no one can spell or pronounce Grijpstra.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

-- from Outsider in Amsterdam:

The accountant sucked pensively on his cigar and began to cough. He looked ferocious and the saggy cigar stub was killed with savage power.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

On a quiet street in downtown Amsterdam, the founder of a new religious society/commune—a group that calls itself “Hindist” and mixes elements of various “Eastern” traditions—is found hanging from a ceiling beam. Detective-Adjutant Gripstra and Sergeant de Gier of the Amsterdam police are sent to investigate what looks like a simple suicide, but they are immediately suspicious of the circumstances.

This now-classic novel, first published in 1975, introduces Janwillem van de Wetering’s lovable Amsterdam cop duo of portly, worldly-wise Gripstra and handsome, contemplative de Gier.

I have no idea why the names are spelled differently in the description than they are on the cover of the book! Other than they are spelled in a more difficult way on the cover. Perhaps the publisher simplified them in a later edition.

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