My Goal to Read 425 Vintage Penguin Green Tribands -- BOOK THOUGHTS

BOOK THOUGHTS

My Goal to Read 425 Vintage Penguin Green Tribands

I wonder how many bookish goals we set with no intention of actually following through? One of my book goals -- more of a book fantasy -- is to read straight through my collection of vintage mysteries in Penguin green triband editions. 

For context, early Penguin paperbacks were issued without illustrations on the cover, just a band of color at the top, the title on an off-white band in the middle, then another band of the same color at the bottom. Hence, "triband" editions. They were color coded. Orange is the most common because it was used for general fiction. Green was for crime fiction -- mysteries, thrillers, and, less commonly, true crime. These early Penguins were not sold in the United States (for copyright reasons I don't understand). You can now find them here used, but not often. 

(Also, Penguin has, more recently, reissued some books with triband covers, along with triband coffee mugs that match the books. Those are cool in themselves, but not what I collect. I go for the vintage editions.)

I don’t have nearly all the original green tribands, but I have 425 of them. Almost all of mine (421) came in one job lot that I bought on eBay from a seller in England. A few are first Penguin editions, most are Penguin reprints, all are pretty tattered. It was during the covid lockdown and, like others, I did some retail therapy when I was cooped up at home and couldn't go anywhere. I had a set of shelves built in my little home office just for my collection of vintage Penguin paperbacks.  

But that was almost five years ago and I have only read a handful of them since I got them. This is why I fantasize about reading straight through the entire collection. I figure I could read them all in about two years if I really made an effort. But as much as I love vintage mysteries, I think doing so might have a deleterious effect on my brain chemistry. I’d see clues everywhere, always suspect foul play, and never be able to attend a dinner party without denouncing a guest as a murderer.

So I think the better plan would be to read them steadily, but salted in among other books. I just need to get going! The picture above shows a random selection of ten that should inspire me to get reading. 

Coroner’s Pidgin by Margery Allingham

Hag’s Nook by John Dickson Carr

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts

Stealthy Terror by John Ferguson

That Yew Tree’s Shade by Cyril Hare

He Laughed at Murder by Richard Keverne

The Twenty-Third Man by Gladys Mitchell

The American Gun Mystery by Ellery Queen

The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer

The Hatter’s Ghost by Simenon

The Department of Dead Ends by Roy Vickers

See any you’ve read or would like to?

Book List: Books Read in 2023

BOOKS READ IN 2023

Every year, usually in January, I post a list of the books I read the prior year. My master list of the books I read on LibraryThing.

Here's the list of the 139 books I read in 2023, in the order I read them. Usually, I read 100 - 110 books in a year. I don't know how I finished 30+ more in 2023.

Notes about my rating system are below the list.

1. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
2. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens (abridged*) 
3. Mystical Paths by Susan Howatch 🌹🌹🌹🌹
4. Know Your Style: Mix It, Match It, Love It by Alyson Walsh 🌹🌹🌹
5. The Big Four by Agatha Christie 🌹🌹🌹🌹
6. The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹
7. Slightly Foxed: String is My Foible, Vol. 76 by Gail Pirkis (Ed.) 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
8. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
9. Playing for the Ashes by Elizabeth George 🌹🌹🌹🌹
10. A German Requiem by Philip Kerr 🌹🌹🌹🌹
11. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy 🌹🌹🌹🌹
12. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
13. Waverley by Sir Walter Scott 🌹🌹🌹
14. The King's General by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹🌹
15. Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin 🌹🌹🌹🌹
16. The Waste Land & Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
17. The Maid by Nita Prose 🌹🌹🌹🌹
18. The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
19. Hill House Living: The Art of Creating a Joyful Life by Paula Sutton 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
20. The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark 🌹🌹🌹1/2
21. The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Grof 🌹🌹🌹🌹
22. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
23. Oregon Confetti by Lee Oser 🌹🌹🌹
24. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister 🌹🌹🌹1/2
25. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹
26. Mrs. Ted Bliss by Stanley Elkin 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
27. Rule Britannia by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹🌹
28. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
29. Even the Dead by Benjamin Black 🌹🌹🌹🌹
30. The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
31. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo 🌹🌹
32. Winston Churchill: Painting on the French Riviera by Paul Rafferty 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
33. A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin 🌹🌹🌹🌹
34. Slightly Foxed, A Date With Iris, Vol. 25 by Gail Pirkis (Ed.) 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
35. A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne 🌹🌹🌹1/2
36. Trailing: A Memoir by Kristin Louise Duncombe 🌹🌹🌹🌹
37. April in Spain by John Banville 🌹🌹🌹1/2
38. Five Flights Up: Sex, Love, and Family, from Paris to Lyon by Kristin Louise Duncombe 🌹🌹🌹🌹
39. The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade 🌹🌹🌹1/2
40. A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹
41. Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher 🌹🌹🌹1/2
42. The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
43. The Holy Bible, King James Version 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 (duh)
44. On Cussing: Bad Words and Creative Cursing by Katherine Dunn 🌹🌹🌹
45. In the Presence of the Enemy by Elizabeth George 🌹🌹🌹🌹
46. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
47. Dragons & Pagodas: A Celebration of Chinoiserie by Aldous Bertram 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
48. Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
49. So Big by Edna Ferber 🌹🌹🌹🌹
50. The Magic Barrel by Bernard Malamud 🌹🌹🌹🌹
51. A Cordiall Water: A Garland of Odd and Old Receipts to Assuage the Ills of Man and Beast by M.F.K. Fisher 🌹🌹🌹1/2
52. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz 🌹🌹🌹
53. Glass Houses by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹
54. Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin 🌹🌹🌹🌹
55. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry 🌹🌹🌹🌹
56. Mapp & Lucia by E. F. Benson 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
57. The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹🌹
58. Black Dogs by Ian McEwan 🌹🌹🌹1/2
59. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane 🌹🌹🌹🌹
60. Slightly Foxed: Beside the Seaside, Vol. 75 by Gail Perkis (Ed.) 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
61. More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
62. Deception on His Mind by Elizabeth George 🌹🌹🌹🌹
63. Horse by Geraldine Brooks 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
64. Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
65. Lucia's Progress by E. F. Benson 🌹🌹🌹🌹
66. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹
67. Trouble for Lucia by E. F. Benson 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
68. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
69. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
70. Ms. Demeanor by Elinor Lipman 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
71. The Grave Gourmet by Alexander Campion 🌹🌹
72. Assignment in Brittany by Helen MacInnes 🌹🌹🌹🌹
73. A Simple Country Murder by Blythe Baker 🌹🌹🌹🌹
74. In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George 🌹🌹🌹🌹
75. Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks 🌹🌹🌹🌹
76. Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh  🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
77. The Sellout by Paul Beatty 🌹🌹🌹
78. A Better Man by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹
79. French Ways and Their Meaning by Edith Wharton 🌹🌹🌹
80. Slightly Foxed: Laughter in the Library, Vol. 77 by Gail Pirkis (Ed.) 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
81. Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu 🌹🌹🌹🌹
82. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
83. S. by John Updike 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
84. Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
85. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 🌹🌹🌹
86. Three Fires by Denise Mina 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
87. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 
88. Dusk and Other Stories by James Salter 🌹🌹
89. The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin 🌹🌹🌹🌹
90. Prisoner of Brenda: Curses, Nurses, and a Ticket to Bedlam by Colin Bateman 🌹🌹🌹🌹 
91. Snow by John Banville 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
92. Blood From a Stone: A Memoir of How Wine Brought Me Back from the Dead by Adam S. McHugh 🌹🌹🌹🌹
93. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders 🌹🌹🌹🌹
94. After Many a Summer Dies the Swan by Aldous Huxley 🌹🌹🌹🌹
95. All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
96. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
97. The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron 🌹🌹🌹🌹
98. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
99. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham 🌹🌹
100. He Said He Would Be Late by Justine Sullivan 🌹🌹🌹1/2
101. A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George 🌹🌹🌹🌹
102. Tom Lake by Ann Patchet 🌹🌹🌹🌹1/2
103. Scandinavian Noir: In Pursuit of a Mystery by Wendy Lesser 🌹🌹🌹
104. Venice Observed by Mary McCarthy 🌹🌹🌹1/2
105. Exit Music by Ian Rankin 🌹🌹🌹🌹
106. Liza of Lambeth by W. Somerset Mugham 🌹🌹🌹
107. One More Seat at the Rounds Table by Susan Dormady Eisenberg 🌹🌹🌹1/2
108. Mating by Norman Rush 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
109. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
110. The Chosen by Chaim Potok 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
111. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
112. The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
113. Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier 🌹🌹🌹🌹
114. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens 🌹🌹🌹🌹
115. The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean 🌹🌹🌹🌹
116. The Collected Poems by W. B. Yeats 🌹🌹🌹🌹
117. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
118. The Long Good-Bye by Raymond Chandler 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
119. The Man with Two Left Feet by P. G. Wodehouse 🌹🌹🌹🌹
120. Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh 🌹🌹🌹🌹
121. Lost for Words by Edward St. Aubyn 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
122. In Search of a Character: Two African Journals by Graham Greene 🌹🌹🌹
123. A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George 🌹🌹🌹🌹
124. A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny 🌹🌹🌹🌹
125. The Prince and Betty by P. G. Wodehouse 🌹🌹🌹1/2
126. Innocent Blood by P. D. James 🌹🌹🌹🌹
127. Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
128. Yellowface by R. F. Kuang 🌹🌹🌹🌹
129. The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman 🌹🌹🌹🌹
130. The Bear Comes Home by Rafi Zabor 🌹🌹🌹
131. Straight Man by Richard Russo 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
132. Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse 🌹🌹🌹1/2
133. The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham 🌹🌹🌹🌹
134. Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin 🌹🌹🌹🌹
135. The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories by Dorothy L. Sayers 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
136. Aqua Alta by Donna Leon 🌹🌹🌹🌹
137. The Spring by Megan Weiler 🌹🌹🌹1/2
138. The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley by Elizabeth Romer 🌹🌹🌹🌹
139. War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

* I didn't realize that my very old (like 1890) edition of Our Mutual Friend was abridged until I got to the end of it. I loved the story, but thought it was herky jerky and that I had missed big parts. It was herky jerky and I did miss big -- and little -- parts. So I can't rate it now. I plan to read the complete version again and know I will love it.  

MY RATING SYSTEM

I switched to using roses for my rating system, since this is Rose City Reader. My rating system is my own and evolving. Whatever five stars might mean on amazon, goodreads, or Netflix, a five-rose rating probably doesn't mean that here. My system is a mix of how a book subjectively appeals to me, its technical merits, and whether I would recommend it to other people.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 Five roses for books I loved, or would recommend to anyone, or I think are worthy of classic "must read" status." Examples would be Lucky Jim (personal favorite), A Gentleman in Moscow (universal recommendation), and Great Expectations (must read).

🌹🌹🌹🌹 Four roses for books I really enjoyed and/or would recommend to people who enjoy that type of book. So I give a lot of four roses because I might really like a book, but it didn't knock my socks off. And while I'd recommend it to someone who likes that genre -- mystery, historical fiction, food writing, whatever -- I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who asked me for a "good book."

🌹🌹🌹 Three roses for books I was lukewarm on or maybe was glad I read but wouldn't recommend.

🌹🌹 Two roses if I didn't like it. Lessons in Chemistry is an example, which proves how subjective my system is because lots of people loved that book. I found it cartoonish and intolerant.

🌹 One rose if I really didn't like it. I don't know if I've ever rated a book this low. The Magus might be my only example and I read it before I started keeping my lists.

I use half roses if a book falls between categories. I can't explain what that half rose might mean, it's just a feeling.

Here is a link to the star rating system I used for years. I include it because the stars I used in years past meant something different than these roses, so if you look at my lists from past years, the ratings won't mean quite the same thing.

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays! Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. You can also share from a book you want to highlight, even if you are not reading it right now.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you are on Instagram, Twitter, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up. Find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

TIE IN: Sadly, Freda at Freda's Voice is taking a break from her weekly blog event, The Friday 56, a natural tie in with this event. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your book, or 56% of the way through an e-book or audiobook. Many people, including me, are still posting Friday 56 teasers, even while Freda takes a break. Please visit her Freda’s Voice blog even if there currently is no place to link your post.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

That amiable youth, Jimmy Thesiger, came racing down the big staircase at Chimneys two steps at a time. 

-- from The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie.

I always feel like reading vintage mysteries in the fall and winter -- cozy books for cozy weather! The Seven Dials Mystery is Agatha Christie's ninth book, published in 1929. In it, Christie brings back the characters from her fifth novel, The Secret of Chimneys, including Inspector Battle.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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

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MY FRIDAY 26

From The Seven Dials Mystery:

Despite Bill's knowledge of his friend's habits, she inclined to the belief that Mr. Thesiger would by now be in a fit state to receive visitors. She took a taxi to 103 Jermyn Street.

2022 Audiobook Challenge -- My Wrap-Up Post

 THE 2022 AUDIOBOOK CHALLENGE

WRAP-UP POST

COMPLETED

I blew past my challenge goal of reading 50+ audiobooks this year! I've read 63 books with my ears in 2022 and will probably finish 65 before the the new year. See list below.

CHALLENGE

Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About host a popular audiobook challenge every year, although 2022 was only the second time I participated. I signed up at the Marathoner level to read 50 or more audiobooks in 2022. 

I love reading with my ears! I download audiobooks from the library to my phone using the Libby app and listen all the time. In good weather, I like to walk to work, which gives me a good hour of audiobook reading in a day. I also listed when I drive, cook, fold laundry, and do other chores. In 2021, I read 131 books and 70 of them were audiobooks. 

One thing I started doing in 2022 was to combine my love of audiobooks with my desire to clear book books off my TBR shelves. I went through my TBR list, found which ones were available as audiobooks from the library, and put them on my Libby wishlist. It may seem odd to listen to the audiobook when I have the physical book already, but I have soooooooooo many book books on my shelves that it would take me years to get to all of them. If I can free up shelf space (and brain space) by reading a book with my ears and getting rid of the paper book, I'm happy. 

MY 2022 AUDIOBOOKS

Here is the list of books I read as audiobooks in 2022, in the order I read them. Do you see any of your own favorites here?

• Katherine by Anya Seton (TBR shelf) 

• The Bostonians by Henry James (TBR shelf) 

• A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym (TBR shelf) 

• Murder at the Mill by M. B. Shaw 

• Dangling Man by Saul Bellow (TBR shelf)

• The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz 

• The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty 

• A Narrow Door by Joanne Harris 

• The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney 

• The Anatomy Lesson by Philip Roth (TBR shelf)

• In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park (Book Club) 

• The Falls by Ian Rankin (TBR shelf) 

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Book Club) 

• Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (TBR shelf, reread) 

• The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz 

• Little Big Man by Larry McMurtry (TBR shelf) 

• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (TBR shelf)

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 

• Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty 

• The Prague Orgy by Philip Roth (TBR shelf)

• The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz 

• Hell of a Book by Jason Mott (National Book Award)

• Trio by William Boyd

• As Husbands Go by Susan Isaac 

• Lucky by Marissa Stapley (Book Club) 

• The Skull Beneath the Skin by P. D. James (TBR shelf)

• Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel (TBR shelf) 

• Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci (Book Club) 

• Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson 

• A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz 

• The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (TBR shelf)

• Holy Orders by Benjamin Black 

• Blue Moon by Lee Child (TBR shelf)

• The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

• Broken Harbor by Tana French (TBR shelf)

• The Counterlife by Philip Roth (TBR shelf)

• Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie

• Mr. Majestyk by Elmore Leonard (TBR shelf)

• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (Book Club) 

• The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

• Woke Racism: How a New Religion has Betrayed Black America by John McWhorter

• The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (TBR shelf) 

• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Book Club)

• Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty 

• Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (TBR shelf)

• The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware

• The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie (TBR shelf)

• Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro (TBR shelf)

• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Victober)

• The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie (TBR shelf)

• The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor (TBR shelf)

• The Underdog and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (TBR shelf)

• The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City by David Lebovitz (TBR shelf)

• Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron

• Literary Life: A Second Memoir by Larry McMurtry (TBR shelf)

• What to Read and Why by Francine Prose

• Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger by Nigel Slater (TBR shelf)

• Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston (TBR shelf)

• Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick (TBR shelf)

• White Teeth by Zadie Smith (TBR shelf)

• One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell (TBR shelf)

• The Mistletoe Murder: And Other Stories by P. D. James (TBR shelf)

• The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier (buddy read)

At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

What day is it? Yikes! What a week!

I got my mom and sister moved to Omaha and flew back to Portland. But got back to the office to a crazy week. My law partner is home with covid. There is a mountain of work for me to catch up on from when I was gone. And my Instagram account was hacked, recovered, and rehacked because the hackers snuck an email address in there that let them change the password after I had recovered the account. So I've been trying to get my Instagram account back from Bitcoin lunatics while changing the passwords on the 800 other websites, apps, and devices in my life. 

If any of you follow me on Instagram, first, thank you. Second, sorry! Please bear with me while I try to recover my account. I really don't want to start over from scratch. Just ignore all the stories trying to sell you cryptocurrency!

In the meantime, here is a delayed Book Beginnings on Fridays post. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of a book you are reading this week. Or just a book that caught your fancy. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

In the heart of the West End, there are many quiet pockets, unknown to almost all but taxi drivers who traverse them with expert knowledge, and arrive triumphantly thereby at Park Lane, Berkeley Square or South Audley Street.

-- from At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie. I need a nice vintage mystery to calm my frayed nerves. In this case, a Silver Vintage Mystery as this one was published in 1965. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please leave the link to your Book Beginning post in the Linky box below. If you post on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From At Bertram's Hotel:

"Of course you won't get run over," said Elvira. "You know how nippy you are on your feet, and all London traffic is used to pulling up suddenly."

What are they up to? Doesn't sound like a safe plan!

Please wish me luck getting my Instagram back!

2021 Vintage Mystery Challenge - My Wrap Up Post

VINTAGE MYSTERY CHALLENGE 2021

VINTAGE SCATTEGORIES

MY WRAP UP POST

COMPLETED

The Vintage Mystery Challenge on My Reader's Block is one of my favorite challenges. The idea is to read at least eight vintage mysteries, either from the Golden Age of mysteries (those published prior to 1960) or the Silver Age of mysteries (those published from 1960 to 1989). 

Each year, Bev makes some kind of game out of it. This year the game is Vintage Scattegories. Participants are to read one book from at least eight of various categories. I signed up for both the Golden Age and Silver Age to try to read 16 books. 

MY VINTAGE MYSTERY CHALLENGE BOOKS - GOLD

In 2021, I read 13 vintage mysteries published before 1960. I was on a mission to read all the Father Brown books, having read the first one in December 2020 and wanting to go straight through, so Fr. Brown shows up a lot in this list. 

• Colorful Crime: The Scandal of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton

• Murder by the Numbers: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers 

• Amateur Night: The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton 

• Jolly Old England: The Secret of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton

• Dangerous Beasts: Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie 

• Staging the Crime: Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh

• Cops & Robbers: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins 

• Locked Room: The Incredulity of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton 

• Murder is Academic: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers 

• Repeat Offenders: Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers 

• A Mystery by Any Other Name: Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie (aka After the Funeral and Murder at the Gallop)

• Country House Criminals: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie 

• Dynamic Duos: The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

MY VINTAGE MYSTERY CHALLENGE BOOKS - SILVER

I read 11 vintage mysteries in 2021 that were published between 1960 and 1989. Most of them were by Dick Francis because he's my favorite. 

• Murder by the Numbers: Twice Shy by Dick Francis 

• Amateur Night: Dead Cert by Dick Francis 

• Jolly Old England: One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters

• Yankee Doodle Dandy: Split Images by Elmore Leonard 

• World Traveler: Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie 

• A Calendar of Crime: March Violets by Philip Kerr 

• Malicious Men: LaBrava by Elmore Leonard

• Murder is Academic: The Theban Mysteries by Amanda Cross 

• Repeat Offenders: Whip Hand by Dick Francis 

• Killed in Translation: The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö 

• Hobbies Can be Murder: Reflex by Dick Francis 

I didn't review any of these books, so my challenge participation was minimal. But I had a terrific time reading them. I look forward to joining the 2022 version of the Vintage Mystery Challenge and will sign up soon!

Monthly Wrap Up -- My November Books

 

MONTHLY WRAP UP

I got so caught up in Christmas prep that I forgot to post my monthly wrap up of the books I read in November. Doesn’t it feel like the last weeks of the year race by?  Between end-of-year work stuff and holiday festivities, I don’t know where my head is half the time.

MY NOVEMBER BOOKS

I read 13 books in November, including four for Nonfiction November. I love these theme reads that seem more popular with the the boom of bookstagram.

In the order I read them, not the order they are in the picture:

The Incredulity of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton. I’m working my way through all the stories. This one isn't in the picture at all because I read it with my ears. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie, the first of three Christie books I read in November just because I was in the mood. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

French Lessons by Ellen Sussman, one from my French Connections list and a fun trip to Paris! 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Vol. 71 of Slightly Foxed from Foxed Quarterly, the Autumn 2021 edition. I count it as a “book” so I can keep track of which ones I read. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Rizzio, the new historical fiction novella by Denise Mina from Pegasus Books was an excellent way to spend a stormy afternoon. Great read! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie 🌹🌹🌹🌹

House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday, which won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize. I wanted to like it more than I did, but the stream of consciousness, multiple narrators, and multiple narrative voices (including the always confusing second person) made it a difficult book to engage with. 🌹🌹🌹

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Past Tense by Lee Child. I have one more to go before I finish all the Jack Reacher books written by Lee Child (without his brother as co-author). Fine with me. I was an ardent fan, but I’m off them.🌹🌹🌹🌹

Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I finally read this classic about living in the woods and can check it off my list! 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The French Chef in America: Julia Child's Second Act by Alex Prud'homme. If you want more of My Life in France, this is the book for you. I loved it.  🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

March Violets by Philip Kerr. This is the first book in his Bernie Gunther series and I’ll definitely stick with it. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Plum Sauce: A P.G. Wodehouse Companion by Richard Usborne is a deep dive into Wodehouse’s 97 books. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Also in the picture are the white camellias that bloom in my yard from November through Christmas. 

 

Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Funerals are Fatal would have been a good book to read last week for Halloween. I'm a bit late. Not it's time for Nonfiction November. Maybe next week I'll have a nonfiction book to share. I've been reading a lot of nonfiction this year to make room on my overflowing nonfiction TBR shelves, so November will be nothing different. But I have a couple of books set aside for Nonfiction November, including Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Are you reading nonfiction this month?

I'm trying to catch up on vintage mysteries these last two months of the year. I've made progress on the Vintage Mystery Challenge but have a ways to go to finish before the end of the year. Funerals are Fatal is one for the challenge. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Old Lanscombe moved totteringly from room to room, pulling up the blinds.

-- From Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie.

The Vintage Mystery Challenge has a "Scattegories" theme again this year and this 1953 mystery counts as my entry in the "Mystery By Any Other Name" category. Funerals are Fatal is more often found under it's other title, After the Funeral. But I love the campy cover on my old pulp paperback edition.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week -- or just a book that caught your fancy. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings.

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THE FRIDAY 56

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Funerals are Fatal:

“Mr. Timothy Abernathie is her only surviving brother and her next of kin, but he is a recluse and an invalid, and is quite unable to leave home. He has empowered me to act for him and to make all such arrangements as may be necessary.”

August Wrap Up -- My August Books

AUGUST WRAP UP

What was your reading like last month? The dog days found me reading more fiction and lighter nonfiction, just enjoying the summer vibe. How about you? 

Here are the ten books I read in August, in the order I read them, not the order they are lined up in the picture. I don't usually review the books I read, so don't analyze their literary merit. My rating reflects only my personal preference for the book.

MY AUGUST BOOKS

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo is a shaggy dog of a family saga and I loved it. I've been mixing up long and short books this year and appreciating both. This one has been on my TBR shelf forever and I am happy to finally get to it. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby proves that he can make anything worth reading, even 250 pages about 1968-1992 soccer games. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Passenger to Frankfurt is one of Agatha Christie’s stand alone spy novels. It is unlike any of her other book I've read and I liked it a lot. I thought the story echoed some of the today's political strife. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Wry Martinis by Christopher Buckley is a collection of his earlier essays, pulled together after the success of Thank You For Smoking. A mixed bag, but enjoyable. 🌹🌹🌹1/2

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse is a solid historical fiction adventure story with a modern day braided narrative and a Holy Grail theme. It wasn't my favorite, but it was entertaining and I'm happy to clear it off my TBR shelf. 🌹🌹🌹1/2

Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by Deborah Davis. This biography of Virginie Gautreau, the woman in Sargent's famous portrait, was my favorite book last month. I read it for book club and then loaned it to another club member, which is why it isn't in the picture. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty isn't in the picture because I read it with my ears. I love all her books and read them all as audiobooks because I like the Australian accent. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman I read for my other book club and passed on to my sister. I liked it a lot. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Woman Who Went to Bed For a Year by Sue Townsend. I wanted to like this more than I did. Bits made me laugh, but I found it more depressing than funny. 🌹🌹🌹

The Darlings by Christina Alger is a Wall Street story inspired by Bernie Madoff. It’s stylish, intricate, and well done, although you have to skate over a few patches of thin credulity in the middle. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

MY FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH

2021 CHALLENGE: Vintage Scattergories - Vintage Mystery Challenge 2021

VINTAGE MYSTERY CHALLENGE 2021

VINTAGE SCATTEGORIES

The Vintage Mystery Challenge on My Reader's Block has always been one of my very favorite challenges. Bev has hosted it since 2011, which is the first year I joined the challenge and I've done it most years since then. I love it. 

Read all the detail of the Vintage Mystery Challenge on the main challenge page. The idea is to read at least eight vintage mysteries, either from the Golden Age of mysteries (those published prior to 1960) or the Silver Age of mysteries (those published from 1960 to 1989). Yes, Bev recognizes that the dates are somewhat arbitrary. Yes, you can sign up to do both the Golden and Silver Ages. 

Each year, Bev makes some kind of game out of it. This year the game is Vintage Scattegories. Participants are to read one book from at least eight of the following categories. I'm signing up for both the Golden Age and Silver Age to try to read 16 books. It's a big motivator for me that Bev also hosts the Mt. TBR Challenge and my plan is to read 16 vintage mysteries already on my shelves!

CATEGORIES

1. Colorful Crime: A book with a color or reference to color in the title
2. Murder by the Numbers: A book with a number or quantity in the title
3. Amateur Night: A book with a detective who is not a P.I.; Police Officer; or other official investigator (Nurse Keate, Father Brown, Miss Marple, etc.)
4. Leave It to the Professionals: A book featuring cops, private eyes, secret service, professional spies, etc.
5. Jolly Old England: A mystery set in the United Kingdom
6. Yankee Doodle Dandy: A mystery set in the United States
7. World Traveler: A mystery set in any country except the U.S. or U.K.
8. Dangerous Beasts: A book with an animal in the title
9. A Calendar of Crime: A mystery with a date/holiday/year/month/etc. in the title
10. Wicked Women: A book with a woman in the title--either by name (Mrs. McGinty's Dead) or by reference (The Case of the Vagabond Virgin)
11. Malicious Men: A book with a man in the title--either by name (Maigret & the Yellow Dog) or by reference (The Case of the Haunted Husband)
12. Murderous Methods: A book with a means of death in the title (The Noose, 5 Bullets, Deadly Nightshade, etc.)
13. Staging the Crime: A mystery set in the entertainment world (theatre, musical event, pageant, Hollywood, etc.)
14. Scene of the Crime: A book with the location of the crime in the title (The Body in the Library, Murder at the Vicarage, etc.)
15. Cops & Robbers: A book that features a theft rather than murder
16. Locked Rooms: A locked-room mystery
17. Impossible Crimes: Any other impossible crime (locks not necessary)
18. Country House Criminals: A standard (or not-so-standard) Golden Age-style country house murder
19. Murder on the High Seas: A mystery involving water
20. Planes, Trains, & Automobiles: A book with a mode of transportation in the title
21. Murder is Academic: A mystery involving a scholar, teacher, librarian, etc. OR set at a school, university, library, etc.
22. Things That Go Bump in the Night: A book with something spooky, creepy, gothic in the title (The Skeleton in the Clock; Haunted Lady; The Bat; etc.)
23. Repeat Offenders: A mystery featuring your favorite series detective or by your favorite author or reread an old favorite
24. The Butler Did It...Or Not: A mystery where the butler is the victim, the sleuth...(gasp) the criminal...or is just downright memorable for whatever reason.
25. A Mystery by Any Other Name: Any book that has been published under more than one title (Murder Is Easy--aka Easy to Kill [Christie]; Fog of Doubt--aka London Particular [Christianna Brand], etc.)
26. Dynamic Duos: A mystery featuring a detective team (Holmes & Watson; Pam & Jerry North; Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin, or a little-known team that you introduce to us)
27. Size Matters: A book with a size or measurement in the title (Death Has a Small Voice; The Big Four; The Weight of the Evidence; etc.)
28. Psychic Phenomena: A mystery featuring a seance, medium, hypnotism, or other psychic or "supernatural" characters/events
29. Book to Movie: A book that has appeared on screen (feature film or TV)
30. The Old Bailey: A courtroom drama mystery OR a mystery featuring a judge, lawyer, barrister, district attorney
31. Serial Killers: Books that were originally published in serial format (from the pulp era) OR a book that includes three or more deaths--all committed by the same person.
32. Killed in Translation: A work that originally appeared in another language and has been made available in English--original publication date determines Gold or Silver Age--OR if your native language is not English, then a work that originally appeared in English which you read in your native language.
33. Blondes in Danger: A variation on "Colorful Crime." A book that features a blonde in the title (The Blonde Died First; The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde) or another shade of hair color (The Case of the Substitute Brunette)
34. International Detectives: A variation on "World Traveler"--but instead of the crime being set in another country, the detective is not from the U.S. or U.K.
35. Somebody Else's Crime: Read a book that someone else has already read for the challenge.
36. Genuine Fakes: Read a book by an author who wrote under a pseudonym (Josephine Tey [Elizabeth Mackintosh]; Nicholas Blake [Cecil Day Lewis]; etc.)
37. Hobbies Can Be Murder: A mystery that involves a hobby in some way: stamp, coin, book collecting, etc; knitting; birdwatching; hunting; etc.
38. Snatch & Grab: Read the first book you pick up off your shelf or TBR stack/s
39. I've Got You Covered: Pick a book to read based on the cover
40. Get Out of Jail Free: One per customer. You decide what special category the book fits and it counts--the only thing not accepted is "It's a vintage mystery!" The genre/time period is a given.

MY VINTAGE MYSTERY CHALLENGE BOOKS - GOLD

I'm not sure yet which Golden Age vintage mysteries I will read, but some possibilities lurking on my shelves include:

• Murder by the Numbers: Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers FINISHED
• Amateur Night: The Wisdom of Father Brown  By G. K. Chesterton FINISHED
• Jolly Old England: 
• Yankee Doodle Dandy: Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler*
• Dangerous Beasts: Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie FINISHED
• Staging the Crime: Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh
• Cops & Robbers: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins FINISHED
• Locked Room: The Incredulity of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton FINISHED
• Murder is Academic: Gaudy Night  by Dorothy L. Sayers FINISHED
• Repeat Offenders: Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers FINISHED
• A Mystery by Any Other Name: Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie (aka After the Funeral and Murder at the Gallop) FINISHED
• Country House Criminals: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie FINISHED
• Dynamic Duos: The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle FINISHED

MY VINTAGE MYSTERY CHALLENGE BOOKS - SILVER

Likewise, I don't know for sure which Silver Age vintage mysteries I'll pick and my choices are fewer, but I could round up these suspects:

• Murder by the Numbers: Twice Shy by Dick Francis FINISHED
• Amateur Night: Dead Cert by Dick Francis FINISHED
• Jolly Old England: At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie
• Yankee Doodle Dandy: Split Images by Elmore Leonard FINISHED
• World Traveler: Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie FINISHED
• A Calendar of Crime: March Violets by Philip Kerr FINISHED
• Wicked Women: Little Drummer Girl by John Le Carre
• Murder is Academic: The Theban Mysteries by Amanda Cross FINISHED
• Repeat Offenders: Whip Hand by Dick Francis FINISHED
• Killed in Translation: The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö FINISHED
• Hobbies Can be Murder: Reflex by Dick Francis FINISHED

NOTES

Updated November 29, 2021. 

* SCRATCH:

Farewell, My Lovely as an option. I realize I read it fairly recently. The Long Goodbye is the Chandler book I want to read, but I don't know if I will get to it for this year's challenge.

Touch by Elmore Leonard as a Yankee Doodle Dandy "Silver" option because I read Split Images instead.

The Amateur by Robert Little as a World Traveler "Silver" option because I read Passenger to Frankfurt instead.

Innocent Blood by P. D. James because I replaced it with Whip Hand by Dick Francis. 

2020 CHALLENGE: My Wrap-Up Post for the 2020 European Reading Challenge

 

WRAP-UP: COMPLETED

This is my wrap-up post for the 2020 European Reading Challenge. To link your wrap-up post, please go to THIS PAGE and add your link. 

To sign up for the 2021 European Reading Challenge, and I hope you do, please go to the main challenge page HERE. 

Unlike most reading challenges, the European Reading Challenge ends on January 31 of the following year. I just think there's so much going on at the end of the year with holidays and many people busy with work that it's nice to have the extra time to finish. You do not have to take the extra time. Personally, I finish reading all the books I'm going to read for the challenge by December and usually give myself January to do my wrap-up post and any reviews I still have to write (if I write them).

But I have the luxury of a few days off this year for the first time in forever so I'm doing my wrap-up post now. 

BOOKS I READ/COUNTRIES VISITED

I visited 10 countries for the 2020 European Reading challenge, which is pretty good, since I signed up for the 5-Star, Deluxe Entourage level to read five books. I don't get to compete for the Jet Setter prize because it's my challenge, but even if I did I wouldn't qualify because I didn't review any of the books! I read a lot in 2020, but I couldn't concentrate enough to review anything. 

I'm listing the countries in the order I visited them. Only one book from each country counts for the challenge, but I'm listing all the books from each country just because. It makes it easier to track from year to year, especially to see if I'm making progress on reading more books in translation.

Of course, most of the books are still from the UK. That always happens. 

GREECE: Circe by Madeline Miller. Ok, it was ancient Greece, but it counts. 

Prospero's Cell: A Guide To The Landscape And Manners of The Island Of Corfu by Lawrence Durrell

UK: Culture Counts: Faith and Feeling in a World Besieged by Roger Scruton

Home Fires by Kamila Shamsie

The Egyptologists by Kingsley Amis and Robert Conquest

Party Going by Henry Green

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers

Warlight by Michaele Ondaatje

Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers

Lost for Words by Edward St. Aubyn

Never Mind: Book One of the Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn

Bad News: Book Two of the Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn

Some Hope: Book Three of the Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn

Mother's Milk: Book Four of the Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn

At Last: The Final Patrick Melrose Novel by Edward St. Aubyn

Death in Holy Orders by P. D. James

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch

House of Trelawney by Hannah Rothschild

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

The Adventures of Sally by P. G. Wodehouse

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Murder Room by P. D. James

English House Style from the Archives of Country Life by John Goodall

Something to Answer For by P. H. Newby

For the Sake of Elena by Elizabeth George

Room at the Top by John Braine

Just Like You by Nick Hornby

They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie

The Hanging in the Hotel by Simon Brett

Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries by Helen Fielding

The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton

The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin

NORWAY: The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

IRELAND: Days Without End by Barry Sebastian

The Likeness by Tana French

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Country Girl: A Memoir by Edna O'Brien

FRANCE: Cheri by Colette

The Last of Cheri by Colette

Gigi by Colette

The Vagabond by Colette

The Shackle by Colette

France is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child by Alex Prud'homme

Paris to the Past: Traveling through French History by Train by Ina Caro

The Stranger by Albert Camus 

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker

GERMANY: Less by Andrew Sean Greer

PORTUGAL: Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

SWEDEN: Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

RUSSIA: Make Russia Great Again by Christopher Buckley, a very 2020 choice

Letters to Yesenin by Jim Harrison

Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov 

ITALY: The Invitation by Lucy Foley

A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

A Venetian Reckoning (aka Death and Judgment) by Donna Leon

All in all, I read 62 books in European countries or by European authors. I made some progress in venturing outside the UK, but still spent most of that time in France, Italy, and Ireland. 10 of the books were translated to English and the Nabokov book almost counts since Russian was his first language and Bend Sinister was only his second book written in English. 

My goal for 2021 will be to spend more time in Scandinavia and venture further into Eastern Europe. I hope to visit some countries I haven't been to before on the European Reading Challenge and read more books in translation.