Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Teaser Tuesday: Elegy for April by Benjamin Black



He was smiling now but there was a glitter to his smile and the sharp tip of an eyetooth showed for a second at the side. He was jealous of Patrick Ojukwu; all the men in their circle were jealous of Patrick, nicknamed the Prince.

-- Elegy for April by Benjamin Black (aka John Banville).  This is the third book in Black's Quirke series, set in the damp and gritty Dublin of the 1950s, featuring the moody and hard drinking Quirke, a consulting pathologist, amateur sleuth, and tortured soul.


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

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Mailbox Monday: Breaking Chains and Gathering Moss


Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).

Book Dragon's Lair is hosting in October.  Please stop by this friendly blog to find reviews and recommendations for your next fantasy novel, cozy mystery, romantic suspense, or who knows . . . .

I got two books from OSU Press last week:



Breaking Chains: Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory by R. Gregory Nokes.  Nokes is a former journalist and the author of Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon (reviewed here), the highly readable account of 34 Chinese gold miners murdered in Hell's Canyon in1887.  There is a new documentary, also called Massacred for Gold, based on the book (watch the trailer here).

Now, in Breaking Chains, Nokes turns his attention to a little-remembered 1853 trial brought by a former black slave against his Oregon owner for breaching his promise to release the man, his wife, and their two children.  Nokes uses the pre-Civil War trial to examine the historical context for racism in the West.  The book is already generating buzz and looks terrific.



Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer.  This may not be as rip-roaring a read as accounts of slave trials or gold-mining murders, but I've had my eye on it for a long time and am very excited to get a copy.  The author won the John Burroughs Medal Award for Natural History Writing for Gathering Moss.

I plan to read it for inspiration and practical guidance in making my own moss garden.  Moss is the rule in Portland, not the exception, but every time I visit the Japanese Garden (below), I am motivated to be more deliberate in my use of moss as an intentional part of my landscaping.





Thursday, October 17, 2013

Book Beginnings: The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch


Please join me every Friday to 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

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.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I am trying to follow all Book Beginning participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY



MY BOOK BEGINNING





“Five hundred guineas!” said Mor’s wife. “Well I never!”


-- The Sandcastle (1957) by Iris Murdoch.  This is Murdoch's third novel.  It is the story of an unhappily married schoolteacher whose life is disrupted when a young artist comes to paint a portrait of the former headmaster.  It doesn't really matter what the story is, I always love Murdoch' s novels.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Teaser Tuesday: Cold by Stella Cameron



He took that bag from a manila envelope and gave it to Leonard who took it as he might a grenade minus its pin.  O'Reilly sat on the edge of a chair that brought their knees close.
-- Cold by Stella Cameron Cold introduces amateur sleuth Alex Duggins in what will hopefully be a long series.  Alex has returned to her Cotswold village after her high-flying London marriage fell apart.  She bought the local pub and a big stone house in the hills.  But she also found a dead body half-frozen in the woods . . .

I haven't read Cameron's other books, but this one is terrific.  I am almost finished and hate to put it down.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

You can't outrun the past... ...and tripping over a frosted corpse is a complication that could destroy Alex Duggins' attempt to restart her life. The discovery of a murder victim threatens to unearth some old secrets, including her own. As the tiny town of Folly-on-Weir braces for a chilling winter and snow blankets Britain's Cotswold Hills, a killer faces a deadline. A terrible crime was believed to be safely hidden, but time and conscience can wear on a secret. The clock ticks and with the police breathing down her neck, Alex knows she's at the top of the suspect list. Desperate to clear her name and find the real murderer she begins to peel back the layers of deception that have long-concealed one of the town's darkest secrets. But time is also running out for a killer who has nothing left to lose. What's one more murder? Someone intends that Alex will be the next snow-covered body found in the beautiful hills above the town.




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

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Mailbox Monday


Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event (details here).

Book Dragon's Lair is hosting in October.  Please stop by this friendly blog to find reviews and recommendations for your next fantasy novel, cozy mystery, romantic suspense, or who knows . . . .

One of the best things about living in Portland is Powell's Books and I am particularly lucky in that my office is a short 15 minute walk away.  On a lunchtime walk the other day, I did a quick swing through the famous City of Books and found a few, no surprise.



Without My Cloak by Kate O'Brien.  This won the James Tait Black Prize back in 1931.  I'm working my way through this list, so was excited to find a reprint.



Venusberg and Agents & Patients.  Anthony Powell (no relation to Powell's City of Books) is a favorite author of mine. I already have a copy of Venusberg, but loved the cover on this duel edition (the first American edition of both).



Faces in My Time, Vol. III of the memoirs of Anthony Powell.  I have the first two volumes and have been looking for these last two.



The Strangers Are All Gone, Vo. IV of the memoirs of Anthony Powell. 

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