State of the Blog: Part Two, The Authors

Summer is here -- even in Portland -- so it is time for me to check in and see what kind of progress I've made on my lists.  There's no point in being a compulsive "list" reader if you don't play with the lists on occasion.

This is the second of my quarterly blog assessment posts.  This one takes a look at my author lists over in the right-hand column. The first part addressed my lists. Part Three will deal with the challenges I joined this year.

NOTE: If you are systematically reading the books of any of these authors, please leave a comment here or on the post for the author's list (click on the title below or in the right-hand column) and leave a link to any related post. I will add the links on the author's list post.

I recently split my author list into two parts: General favorites and Mystery favorites.  See here for discussion.

So far in 2011, I've read 23 books by my favorite authors.  As soon as I make some progress on my Guilt List, I plan to get back to my old friends.  And probably add some new names to my lists.

GENERAL FAVORITES

Kingsley Amis
The Crime of the Century

William Boyd
Brazzaville Beach (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge)

Elinor Lipman
Then She Found Me

Philip Roth
The Human Stain (reviewed here)

C. P. Snow
George Passant (originally titled Strangers and Brothers) (reviewed here)

Anne Tyler
Breathing Lessons (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version challenge)

John Updike
Beck: A Book (reviewed here)

P. G. Wodehouse
The Indiscretions of Archie

MYSTERY FAVORITES

Kate Atkinson
When Will There Be Good News?
Started Early, Took My Dog (reviewed here)

Lee Child
Gone Tomorrow

Dick Francis
10 Lb. Penalty
Bolt
Banker
Knockdown
Break In

P. D. James
A Mind to Murder

Donna Leon
Death in a Strange Country

John Lescroart
A Plague of Secrets (reviewed here)

Helen MacInnes
The Hidden Target

Ian Rankin
Strip Jack
Knots and Crosses

Dorothy L. Sayers
Clouds of Witness (1926) (reviewed here)

Opening Sentence of the Day: Evening Class

There was a time back in 1970 when they would love filling in a questionnaire.

-- Evening Class by Maeve Binchy.

Every now and again I want to fall into a Maeve Binchy novel and live in it.  This mood usually strikes when I am hectic at work or otherwise am feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Her novels are dense with details of interesting, but ordinary people overcoming difficulties.  They restore me. 

State of the Blog: Part One, the Lists

Summer is here -- at least on the calendar -- so it is time for me to check in and see what kind of progress I've made on my lists.  There's no point in being a compulsive "list" reader if you don't play with the lists on occasion.

This is the first of my quarterly blog assessment posts.  This first part addresses the book lists. Part Two, coming soon, will take a look at the author lists.  Part Three will deal with the challenges I joined this year.

My book lists are over in the right-side column. These are now divided into Prize Winners and "Must Reads" and include lists of books I have read or intend to read for some reason or another. Also in the right-side column are lists of my favorite authors. I add to these lists of lists from time to time.

NOTE: If you are working on any of these lists, please leave a comment here or on the post for the list (click on the title below or in the right-hand column) and leave a link to any related post. I will add the links on the list post. 

I am simplifying the format of this post from the way I used to do it.  Now, all that is included below are the lists themselves and any books I have read this year that are on those lists. 

So far in 2011, I've read 24 books from my book lists. 

THE PRIZE WINNERS

COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR

Books read in 2011: none so far.

EDGAR AWARD

Books read in 2011: The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook (reviewed here).

JAMES TAIT BLACK MEMORIAL PRIZE

Books read in 2011:

• G by John Berger (reviewed here; read for my 2010 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge);
• Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge).

MAN BOOKER PRIZE

Books read in 2011:

1. G by John Berger (reviewed here; read for my 2010 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge);
2. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge)

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

Books read in 2011:

• Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (reviewed here; read for my 2010 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge).
• Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge)

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD

Books read in 2011:one, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, challenge).

NOBEL LAUREATES

Books read in 2011: none so far.

ORANGE PRIZE

Books read in 2011: none so far.

PEN/FAULKNER

Books read in 2011: one, The Human Stain by Philip Roth (reviewed here)

PULITZER PRIZE

Books read in 2011: one, Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (reviewed here; read for my 2011 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, challenge)

THE "MUST READS"

1899 TOP 100

Books read in 2011: none so far.

ALL-TIME TOP 100

Books read in 2011: none so far.

ANTHONY BURGESS

This list is from 99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939 by Anthony Burgess, which I finally read this year. My review is here. 

Books read in 2011: 

• George Passant, the first volume of C. P. Snow’s 11-volume Strangers and Brothers series (reviewed here);
• Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor.

BBC'S BIG READ

Books read in 2011: one, Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

BOOK CLUB

Books read in 2011: one, Honolulu by Alan Brennert.

COLLEGE BOARD

Books read in 2011: one, The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

COOKBOOK LIBRARY

Books read in 2011:

• Classic Spanish Cooking: Recipes for Mastering the Spanish Kitchen by Elisabeth Luard (reviewed here) 
• With a Jug of Wine by Morrison Wood (discussed here)

EASTON PRESS

Books read in 2011: one, The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

ERICA JONG

Books read in 2011:

• Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor; 
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (reviewed here); 
• The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein.

FRENCH CONNECTION

Books read in 2011:

• The Food of France by Waverley Root (reviewed here);
• The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein.

GUILT LIST

Books read in 2011:

• One City's Wilderness by Marcy Cottrell Houle (reviewed here); and
• Maps and Shadows by Krysia Jopek (reviewed here);
• Because You Might Not Remember by Don Colburn;
• The Losing Role by Steve Anderson (reviewed here).

LT EARLY REVIEWERS

Books read in 2011: one, Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes by Ed Butts (reviewed here).

MLA'S 30

Books read in 2011: none so far.

MODERN LIBRARY

Books read in 2011: zero (finished this list a couple of years ago).

OBSERVER'S TOP 100

Books read in 2011:

1.  The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James; and
2.  Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor.

OREGON BOOKS

Books read in 2011: none so far.

RADCLIFFE'S TOP 100

Books read in 2011:

• The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.
• The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein.

ROSE CITY READER'S TOP 10

Books read in 2011: none so far. Who knows if the list will change this year.

VENICE BOOKS

This is a new list that I just created in February.

Books read in 2011: one, Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon.

WELL-STOCKED BOOKCASE

Books read in 2011: none so far.

List of the Day: The Guilt List

As of January 1, 2012, I am no longer keeping track of my Guilt List. I have abolished my guilt! 

I used to keep a list of books I received from publishers, publicists, authors, or others. It included only those books that I had not read, those still sitting on my shelf, giving me the book version of the old stink eye.

But now I have a new system.  Unless I ask for a particular book and promise to review it, any book I receive that would qualify for my Guilt List gets three posts here on Rose City Reader: a Mailbox Monday post when I receive it, then an Opening Sentence post and a Teaser Tuesday post in the order in which the books arrived.

The big change is that after these three posts go up, the book goes onto my regular TBR shelf to be read if and when the fancy arises (which could take years) and probably won't get reviewed. 


NOTE
Last updated on January 7, 2012.

Teaser Tuesday: Supreme Courtship

Senator Mitchell’s Judiciary Committee staff investigators were known on Capitol Hill as the Wraith Riders, after the relentless, spectral, horse-mounted pursuers of hobbits in The Lord of the Rings. It was said in hushed tones on Capitol Hill that the Wraith Riders could find something on anyone: could make it look like Mother Teresa had run a whorehouse in Calcutta; that St. Thomas More had been having it off with Catherine of Aragon; or that Dr. Albert Schweitzer had conducted ghastly live medical experiments on helpless, unanesthetized African children on behalf of Belgian drug companies.

-- Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley.

Satire is probably the most difficult form fiction can take. No one does it better than Christopher Buckley, and this book is no exception.  Pepper Cartwright -- a sexy, Texan version of Judge Judy -- gets nominated to the US Supreme Court. Hilarity ensues. 

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday & GIVEAWAY WINNER

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

The Bluestocking Guide is hosting in June. Please visit her wonderful blog,which is jam-packed with reviews, essays, and other bookish features.

I got four books last week:

The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America's Emerging Battle Over Food Rights by David E. Gumpert.  I bought this because it is an issue I am becoming more and more interested in.

I've been writing about raw milk and other Food Freedom issues on my law firm's blog: Here is my post concerning the recent arrest of an Amish farmer; and here is my post about buying raw milk in Germany.



Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front by Joel Salatin.  I bought this for the same reason.  And because the cover made me laugh.




The Hair of Harold Roux]by Thomas Williams. This is a re-issue of the 1975 National Book Award winner.  I got it through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. 



Spinning the Law: Trying Cases in the Court of Public Opinion by Kendall Coffey. I got this from the Internet Review of books to do a review ASAP.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

Many thanks to all those who participated in my recent book giveaway. It was heartening to see this nonfiction book generate that kind of enthusiasm.

Congratulations go to Gwendolyn B. of A Sea of Books who won the giveaway of Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape from Tibet by Jonathan Green.

This looks like a really interesting book. What's more, because this is a leapfrog giveaway, Gwendolyn will also get to do a giveaway of her own for another copy of the book.

Thanks go to Mary Bisbee-Beek for making the giveaway possible. Mary is a dedicated and truly remarkable book publicist.

More Blog Spring Cleaning

I did a little more tidying up today. My list of lists over there on the right side was getting to be too long, so I broke it into two lists: Prize Winners and Must Reads.

The Prize Winner category is self-explanatory.  Literary prizes abound, but these are the few, mostly the big ones, that I am working on.  I hope to read all of them some day.

The Must Reads category includes all kinds of "recommended reading" lists, from the big one's that got a lot of buzz, to my own personal lists. 

I started this blog after finishing all the books on the Modern Library's Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century, because finishing that list focused my attention on all the other book lists that were out there.  That explains the inclusion of Radcliffe's rival list, for example. And Erica Jong's list of top 100 books by women.

My personal lists include my Top 10, my cookbook library, the books my book club has read, my dreaded Guilt List, and my LibraryThing Early Reviewer list.  It also includes some lists I created, such as lists of books set in France or books set in Venice.

What books lists do you work on? Do you make your own? Share links please!

List of the Day: LibraryThing Early Reviewers Books

The LibraryThing Early Reviewer program is an amazing resource for readers and publishers. Each month, LibraryThing distributes well over 1,000 books to readers with the idea that participants will review the books, thereby generating interest and, the authors and publishers hope, sales.

Recently, LibraryThing added a feature to the Early Review program that gives participants access to a personalized page listing the books they received through the program. This page lets participants keep track of which books arrived and which books they have reviewed.  I try not to let this page nag at me. 

This is my progress list. Those I have read are in red, with links to reviews.

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith

Improbable Patriot: The Secret History of Monsieur de Beaumarchais by Harlow Giles Unger

Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie

Wicked Autumn by G. M. Malliet

Nat Tate: An American Artist: 1928-1960 by William Boyd (reviewed here)

The Hair of Harold Roux by Thomas Williams (reviewed here)

The Reluctant Detective by Martha Ockley (reviewed here)

One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming (reviewed here)

Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes by Ed Butts (reviewed here)

Just Enough Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (reviewed on LibraryThing)

American Terroir by Rowan Jacobsen (reviewed here)

Peaceful Places: Los Angeles by Laura Randall (reviewed here)

Burmese Lessons: A True Love Story by Karen Connelly (reviewed here)

Beautiful Maria of My Soul by Oscar Hijuelos

A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks  (reviewed here)

The New York Stories by Elizabeth Hardwick

Short Stories, Book I by Anton Chekhov (reviewed here)

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (audiobook) (reviewed here)

The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain, published by Words Without Borders Anthologies (reviewed here)

Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow (reviewed here)

American Lion by Jon Meacham (reviewed here)

American Rust by Philipp Meyer (reviewed here)

Au Revoir to All That by Michael Steinberger (reviewed here)

Forbidden Bread by Erica Johnson Debeljak (reviewed here)

The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley (reviewed here)

The Stettheimer Dollhouse by Sheila W. Clark (reviewed here)

Maimonides: and the Biblical Prophets by Israel Drazin

Joker One by Donovan Campbell (reviewed here)

The Amish Cook at Home by Lovina Eicher (reviewed here)

Blackbird, Farewell by Robert Greer (reviewed here)

The Fire by Katherine Neville (reviewed here)

Foreigners by Caryl Phillips (reviewed here)

Resistance Fighter by Jørgen Kieler (reviewed here)

Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes: How Grassroots Activism Led to the Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews by Howard M. Lenhoff (reviewed here)

Abbeville by Jack Fuller (reviewed here)

The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson (reviewed here)

Gifted by Nikita Lalwani (reviewed here)

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell (reviewed here)

Franklin and Lucy by Joseph Persico (reviewed here)

America America by Ethan Canin (reviewed here)

How to Find Morels by Milan Pelouch (reviewed here)

The Size of the World by Joan Silber (reviewed here)


NOTE
Updated last on March 4, 2012.

OTHER EARLY REVIEWERS
If anyone else is keeping track of their Early Reviewer books on their blogs, please leave a link to your progress report in a comment and I will add it here.

If you have reviewed any of the books I have, please leave a link to your review on my review post for that book and I will add it.

.

Bookstore Review: Second Glance Books in Portland

Second Glance Books is a terrific used bookstore and a real gem in a city that prides itself on independent bookstores. Owner Rachelle couldn’t be friendlier and is always available to give recommendations, engage in some bookish chit chat, or just leave you alone to browse.

She has an excellent selection of books, all clean and neatly organized. I go in mostly looking for literary fiction and classics, and never go away empty handed. Rachelle keeps a good mix of popular literature – like the latest Orange Prize winner – and out-of-print, older novels that show up on the “must read” lists I’m working on.

She also keeps an eclectic and enticing collection of non-fiction books. I once found a pop-up book of dinosaurs and once, even better, a hand printed book of seasonal cocktail recipes with a hand painted cover.

Second Glance is not big enough to be a “city of books,” but it is a charming village. If you live in Portland or come for a visit, go there and shop like a local.

Second Glance Books

4500 NE Sandy Blvd.

Portland, OR 97213

sgbooks@qwestoffice.net

503.249.0344

Blog Spring Cleaning

My list of favorite authors in the right-hand column was getting unruly.  So I did a little spring cleaning and split it into two lists -- one of favorite "general" authors and one of favorite "mystery" authors.

Please take these designations with a grain of salt.  Putting an author on the "mystery" list is not a comment on their literary abilities, merely a reflection that they generally write books in which at least one murder occurs.

Of course, there are exceptions.  Dick Francis wrote many mysteries in which the only dead bodies were equine, and the last one I read had no death in it at all.  On the other hand, Ian McEwan, William Boyd, and others on the "general" list often sprinkle a few corpses throughout their books.  And Kate Atkinson confused me so that I included her on both lists.

Also, "mystery" may not be exactly correct.  Some of these authors may actually write "thrillers" or "crime novels."  But I am lumping them all under one heading for simplicity's sake. 

Happy reading!

Review of the Day: The James Joyce Murder

The James Joyce Murder is the second in Amanda Cross' series featuring English professor turned amateur sleuth, Kate Fansler. Any bibliophile with a penchant for mysteries has to love a series with an English professor as the heroine!

Here, Kate sets out to spend the summer in the Berkshires, sorting the papers of a recently deceased eminent publisher, famous for his correspondence with modern greats, including James Joyce. Her chaotic household – the subject of much gossip in the rural community – includes an unruly young nephew, his tutor, Kate's assistant, her District Attorney boyfriend, and a couple of weekend guests.

The mystery is clever enough, even if it lacks many twists and turns. The fun of the book is its effervescent tone, literary subject matter, and witty dialog. In addition to literature, the characters spend a lot of time discussing who is and isn't a virgin, which seems even more dated than the book's 1967 publishing date. That may be part of why it is easy to imagine a movie version featuring Katherine Hepburn as Kate and Gregory Peck as her D.A. boyfriend.

Today's readers need to tolerate vintage kitsch to enjoy the book. But for those who do, The James Joyce Murder is a lot of fun.

Teaser Tuesday: The Hidden Target

He'd never hurt me, not Jim.  And if he lied about Salonika?

-- The Hidden Target by Helen MacInnes.

I always enjoy Helen MacInnes books.  This one is a little more dense than the typical thriller, but is still very good.  

 

I blame jet lag for my inability to get this one finished in a timely manner. I keep falling asleep during my pre-bed reading time!

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday & GIVEAWAY

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

The Bluestocking Guide is hosting in June. Please visit her wonderful blog,which is jam-packed with reviews, essays, and other bookish features.

My mailbox was jam-packed last week.  All are books that are going straight to my Guilt List, but I've been feeling energized to read my Guilt List books lately, so that is not a bad thing.

Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape from Tibet by Jonathan Green.

This looks great! This is a book -- and a story -- that is gettign a lot of buzz. Mine is the new paperback edition.

GIVEAWAY: Thanks to Mary Bisbee-Beek, intrepid book publicist, I have an extra copy of this book to give away.  Details of the GIVEAWAY are on this post. Even better, Mary has another giveaway copy for the person who wins -- it's a leapfrog giveaway! Go HERE to sign up.



The Oregon Experiment by Keith Scribner.  I don't really know what to expect from this new novel, but it looks intriguing.



Voodoo Vintners: Oregon's Astonishing Biodynamic Winegrowers by Katherine Cole.  OSU Press sent this to me and it has piqued my interest.  This will count as one of my Foodie's Reading Challenge books.



The Luminist by David Rocklin.  Illicit love and photography in 19th century Ceylon -- sounds good to me!

This is another beautiful Hawthorne Books edition, with the fancy French covers. Love it.



Aftermath by Scott Nadelson.  This is a new collection of stories, also in a lush Hawthorne Books edition.

I really enjoyed Nadelson's earlier collection, Saving Stanley, which I reviewed here. I am looking forward to this one.



On Mt. Hood: A Biography of Oregon's Perilous Peak by Jon Bell. Another good one from OSU Press. I look at My. Hood every day -- now I can learn about it.

GIVEAWAY: Murder in the High Himalaya

Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape from Tibet by Jonathan Green.

Here is a synopsis from the Publisher's Weekly review:

In 2006, an impulsive, naïve young Tibetan nun and her best friend, both yearning for religious freedom from Chinese rule, joined a group of fellow Tibetans desperate to escape to India, where the Dalai Lama has lived since the 1950 annexation of Tibet by China. Kelsang Namtso and Dolma Palkyi embarked on the brutal journey over the Himalayas. Smuggled by illegal guides past Chinese border police, the group braved freezing temperatures and snow, the high altitude, and perilous crevasses. Green alternates the refugees' trek with that of Luis Benitez, an American celebrity mountain guide leading a rich group of international clients to the Himalayan peak Cho Oyu. The two groups met on the peak as Chinese guards, alerted to the refugees' presence, chased after the escapees with machine guns ablaze, and Kelsang was killed in full view of the Westerners. One of Benitez's clients filmed the incident, which gained worldwide notoriety.

GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to Mary Bisbee-Beek, intrepid book publicist, I have an extra copy of this book to give away.  Even better, Mary has another giveaway copy for the person who wins -- it's a leapfrog giveaway!

THE RULES: The contest is open until Sunday, June 19, 2011. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include a way to contact you (email or website address in your comment or available in your profile). If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable.) Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Stumble this blog, digg it, technorati fave it, link it on facebook, or otherwise spread the internet word. Leave a separate comment. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. and Canada only. The deadline for entry is 9:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Sunday, June 19, 2011. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post for June 20, 2011.

Favorite Author: Donna Leon

Donna Leon is an American author living in Venice.  She writes a mystery series set in and around Venice that features Commissario Guido Brunetti. The lengthy series is listed in publication order, starting with the first book in the series.

I included her series in my list of Venice books, but I want to have a separate Favorite Author list for her too.

Those I have read are in red.  Those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

If anyone else is reading these books, please leave a comment with a link to related posts.

Death at La Fenice

Death in a Strange Country

Dressed for Death

Death and Judgment

Acqua Alta

Quietly in Their Sleep

A Noble Radiance

Fatal Remedies

Friends in High Places

A Sea of Troubles

Willful Behavior

Uniform Justice

Doctored Evidence

Blood from a Stone

Through a Glass, Darkly

Suffer the Little Children

The Girl of His Dreams

About Face

A Question of Belief

Drawing Conclusions

NOTES

Last updated on December 26, 2012.

Review of the Day: The Chatham School Affair

Thomas H. Cook channeled his inner Daphne Du Maurier for his Edgar-winning mystery, The Chatham School Affair. This modern gothic extravaganza is narrated by the now-elderly Henry Griswald, who has finally taken it on himself to explain what really happened at Black Pond 70 years ago.

Henry was a teenager in 1926 when Elizabeth Channing arrived to teach art at his father's boarding school in Chatham, Massachusetts, a provincial town on Cape Cod. Her beauty and worldly ways antagonize the puritans of the town, but captivate her fellow teacher, Leland Reed. Henry is swept away by the romance and adventure of their relationship, becoming more of an accomplice than a neutral observer.

Henry spins the story out bit by bit, each scene heavy with melodrama and ominous foreshadowing. It is difficult to keep the suspense building with this kind of "historical account" technique, but Cook handles it well, never giving away more than what is necessary to move the story forward.

If the story drags a bit in parts and some scenes are a bit overwrought, that is a reasonable price to pay for what is, overall, a rich and well-crafted novel.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this or any of Thomas H. Cook's other novels listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

Here is list of all the Edgar Award winners.  This won in 1997.

Review of the Day: Brazzeville Beach

William Boyd won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his mesmerizing novel Brazzaville Beach.

Narrator Hope Clearwater sets out to explain why she is living on the edge of Africa, in a dead-end scrap of a village called Brazzaville Beach. Her story is two-fold: what happened to her marriage in England that drove her to Africa in the first place, and what happened at the chimpanzee research preserve afterward.

Hope had married a math genius, and then wrestled with jealousy of his monomania when her own career took time to get traction. The story has a classic X-shaped structure, with her life and career improving while her husband's falls apart.

The second story about the chimpanzees is more exciting and less theoretical. Hope discovers a violent division in the chimpanzee tribe, but must fight her boss – a world authority on chimpanzee behavior – to expose the truth. The resolution is a little subdued given the action leading up to it, but it is still an absorbing tale.

Both stories are fascinating, although they never really tie together thematically. Other than both involving science and both leading to Hope's further independence, there isn't a lot of connection between the two narratives. But Boyd knows how to tell a story and this novel is no exception. Worth the read.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this, or any other William Boyd book, listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

I read this as one of my James Tait Black Memorial Prize picks for the 2011 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, Challenge.  William Boyd is one of my favorites.

A Bibliophile Pilgrimage

It has long been a book-loving dream of mine to visit the famous Bibliothek at the Benedictine Abbey in Metten, Germany.

I first saw the library featured in a coffee table book called The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World.  Not only was there a chapter on the Metten library, but it was beautiful enough to warrant the picture on the back cover.

But what really captured my fancy was that the Metten library is part of the same "Kloster" that houses the school several of my cousins attended.  My paternal grandfather grew up in Bavaria, in a tiny village near the little village of Metten, both outside the small city of Deggendorf.  That corner of Bavaria is thick with cousins of varying degree.

When I went to one cousin's graduation in 2002, I was disappointed that the Bibliothek was not open for some reason.  I was determined to see it when I was in Bavaria last week.  It took a couple of tries, due to my inadequate German and the Kloster's inadequate signage, but Hubby and I made it to the tour Saturday morning.

Wow!

Really, wow!

Don't turn me in to the elderly woman who lead our tour, but I surreptitiously took some forbidden photos.  No flash -- I'm not a total scofflaw.  But I was not going to pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

 

 

Teaser Tuesday: The Hidden Target

Section One was not dead -- after America, he'd be back to give it life again -- but it was badly mangled.  Last week, it had been the most effective operational unit of the People's Revolutionary Force for Direct Action.

-- The Hidden Target by Helen MacInnes.

I have a stack of Helen MacInnes books and always enjoy them.  This is a later one, published in 1980, and involves "a new undercover counter-terrorist network" and "a deadly game playing across thee continents." 

It was a little dense to start with, but now that the players are in place and the adventure has begun, it is rolling right along.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

The Bluestocking Guide is hosting in June. Please visit her wonderful blog,which is jam-packed with reviews, essays, and other bookish features. 

I added a few books to my list of Bavaria books:

Travellers Bavaria Including Munich, published by Thomas Cook.



MapGuide: Munich, published by Knopf.

Favorite Author: Helen MacInnes

Helen MacInnes (1907 - 1985) was born and educated in Scotland, and moved to America with her husband in 1937. She started writing spy novels in WWII and is best known for her Cold War thrillers, usually involving reluctant amateurs caught up in international adventures.

I love them because the protagonists are always smart, competent, and classy. The heroes are gentlemen, usually with an intellectual bent, and the women are all very intelligent, but can outrun bad guys even in high heels.

Those I have read are in red; those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

Almost all are out of print, but readily available. In publication order:

Above Suspicion (1939)

Assignment in Brittany (1942)

While Still We Live (aka The Unconquerable) (1944)

Horizon (1945)

Friends and Lovers (1947)

Rest and be Thankful (1949)

Neither Five Nor Three (1951)

I and My True Love (1953)

Pray for a Brave Heart (1955)

North from Rome (1958)

Decision at Delphi (1960)

The Venetian Affair (1963)

The Double Image (1965)

The Salzburg Connection (1968)

Message from Malaga (1971)

The Snare of the Hunter (1974)

Agent in Place (1976)

Prelude to Terror (1978)

The Hidden Target (1980)

Cloak of Darkness (1982)

Ride a Pale Horse (1984)

NOTES

Last updated on January 3, 2013.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Grand Cru

Having barely wet his lips with the dark red wine, Henri Lamarque balanced the fragile wine glass lightly but firmly in his fingers, truly as if it were a chalice, swirling the precious stuff, airing it, studying its color and viscosity, or "legs" if the term is permitted.

-- Grand Cru by Barney Leason.

I am still on my light reading jag, devouring mysteries non stop.  This Sonoma wine adventure is right up my alley right now.

It may be even more fluffy than what I have in mind, but my husband grew up in Sonoma County and worked at wineries in college, so that connection may be enough to hold my attention.

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Hidden Target

The church lay in the heart of the city.

-- The Hidden Target by Helen MacInnes.

I always love her books.  Everyone is dashing and debonair, the women wear dresses and high-heeled pumps but can still can outrun bad guys, and the stories are a little racy with some European flair.  

This one involves "a new undercover counter-terrorist network" and "a deadly game playing across thee continents." It was published in 1980, so won't have the kitschy, Mid-Century charm of her earlier books.But I'm sure I will still love it.

Teaser Tuesday: Marrying the Mistress

"You can't write her off as a gold-digger or a marriage-wrecker or a legal groupie or a sex bomb.  You can't write Dad off, either, as a classic male menopause victim wanting to reassure himself that he could still double the world's population if he wanted to."

-- Marrying the Mistress by Joanna Trollope.

These are the comments of one of the Judge's children when discussing their father's announcement that he is going to marry his long-time lawyer girlfriend.  Unfortunately, he's still married to their mother. 

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Happy Memorial Day!