Opening Sentence: World Without End

Gwenda was eight years old, but she was not afraid of the dark.

-- World Without End by Ken Follett.

This is the sequel to the fabulous Pillars of the Earth that I read a few years back. Pillars was the story of building the Kingsbridge Cathedral in the 1100s; this one takes place 200 years later.

This counts as one of my choices for several challenges: TBR Pile, Mt. TBR, Off the Shelf, Chunkster, and Tea & Books.

Teaser Tuesday: The Devil's Elixir

The Mexican got up from the couch, calmly, and took a step toward Walker, sending a ripple of tension across the room.  The rest of the bikers straightened up and inched forward threateningly, clearly ready to rumble, as did Navarro's two aides.

-- The Devil's Elixir by Raymond Khoury. This is a drugs-and-guns thriller with a historical mystery overlay.  It is pure entertainment. 

This is the latest in Khoury's Templar series, featuring FBI agent Sean Reilly and his archaeologist girlfriend Tess Chaykin. I haven't read the others, but this one stands alone just fine.

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).

Metroreader hosting in February. Please stop by her fun blog to see what she is reading on her commute!

I got one book last week:

Bamboo Farmer Wisdom: 101 Inspirational Thoughts by Greg Bell, author of Water the Bamboo.



The book came as part of a "small world" story. A few weeks ago, a gentleman came to my door to explain that a friend of his had owned our house for about 30 years, that he was elderly now, and would love to come see his house again.  So we made arrangements for the two of them to come over for a visit, which they did yesterday afternoon. 

It turns out that the gentleman who made the arrangements for his friend is the father-in-law of my old friend, Greg Bell.  So he brought me a copy of Greg's new book, a little gift-book companion to Greg's excellent Water The Bamboo: Unleashing The Potential Of Teams And Individuals, which I reviewed here.



The Wisdom book did indeed come with a Water the Bamboo wristband.  My cats immediately disappeared it. 

Favorite Author: Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch (1919 - 1999) was an Irish-born author best known for her complex but entertaining philosophical novels.  Dame Iris, as she was known since she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1987, won the Booker, Black, and Whitbread (now Costa) prizes; had one book on the Modern Library's list of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century; and also wrote poetry, plays, and books of philosophy.

I am working my way through her novels, which are listed below in publication order.  Those I have read are in red; those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

Under the Net (1954) (Modern Library's Top 100 list)

The Flight from the Enchanter (1956)

The Sandcastle (1957)

The Bell (1958)

A Severed Head (1961)

An Unofficial Rose (1962)

The Unicorn (1963)

The Italian Girl (1964)

The Red and the Green (1965)

The Time of the Angels (1966)

The Nice and the Good (1968)

Bruno's Dream (1969)

A Fairly Honourable Defeat (1970)

An Accidental Man (1971)

The Black Prince (1973) (James Tait Black winner)

The Sacred and Profane Love Machine (1974) (Whitbread, now Costa, winner)

A Word Child (1975)

Henry and Cato (1976)

The Sea, the Sea (1978) (Booker winner; reviewed here)

Nuns and Soldiers (1980)

The Philosopher's Pupil (1983)

The Good Apprentice (1985)

The Book and the Brotherhood (1987) (reviewed here)

The Message to the Planet (1989)

The Green Knight (1993)

Jackson's Dilemma (1995)

OTHER MURDOCH FANS

Please feel free to leave comments with links to your Murdoch-related posts and I will list them here. 

NOTES

The Sea, the Sea is my favorite so far.  It is a remarkable novel and really, really wonderful. I also loved The Bell.

A Fairly Hounorable Defeat was also very good, and sticks in my head all the more now that I read Claire Massoud's The Emperor's Children, which I think was a rip-off of Murdoch's earlier book.

Updated March 17, 2020.

Opening Sentence: Murder at the Vicarage

It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon at the Vicarage.

-- Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie.

This is the first of Christie's full-length novels featuring Miss Jane Marples, although Miss Marples had appeared in earlier short stories.

The Vintage Mystery Challenge has me in a vintage mystery mood, for sure.  This will count as one of my choices in the Golden Age Girls category.