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. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

Thanks to a stop at Booktique in Lake Oswego, one of my favorite library friends' stores, I got a stack of mystery books last week:



The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell. This is a stand-alone. I've only just started her Inspector Wexford series.



The Hand That Trembles by Kjell Eriksson. I want to read more "Nordic Noir" mysteries since I've watched so many on Netflix.



Missing Joseph by Elizabeth George. I've only read the first Inspector Lynley book, but I have a lot of them on my TBR shelf now, so want to get going.



With No One As Witness by Elizabeth George



Careless in Red by Elizabeth George



The Theban Mysteries by Amanda Cross. I've read the first two of her Kate Fansler mysteries. I start a lot of series, then collect the books. I need to read more!

2016 Challenge: The Vintage Mystery Challenge (Silver)

One of my all-time favorite challenges is the Vintage Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block. This year, Bev switched from her recent BINGO theme, which I enjoyed but wasn't good at, to a Scavenge Hunt theme that looks like a ton of fun.

I did the Golden version of this challenge for the first few years, reading mysteries published before 1960. That's how I first branched out from Agatha Christie and Rex Stout to Nagio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and other Golden Agers new-to-me.

Last year I really enjoyed the Silver version, reading mysteries published between 1960 and 1989. Instead of the kitschy, vintage charm of the Golden Oldies, the Silver Age mysteries really push my cultural reference buttons because those were my growing up decades. I wasn't reading Dick Francis novels or Robert Parker's Spencer series when I was in elementary school, but the current events, music, cars, clothes, and attitudes in these books was all around me as a kid.

The Scavenger Hunt involves finding as many items on the list below in the covers of the books read. You can only count one item per book cover. You complete the challenge by "finding" six items on the list, at which point you are entered in Bev's drawing for a prize (if you complete your wrap up post). If you find 12 items on the list, you get entered in a second drawing for a second prize. Bev will also award a Grand Prize for the person who finds the most items.

BOOKS FINISHED

A New Lease of Death by Ruth Rendell (1967; Inspector Wexford #2; Just One Person)


Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George (1989; Inspector Lynley #2; Bloodstains)


Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (1961; Inspector Felse #2; Edgar Award Winner; A Blonde)


Billingsgate Shoal by Rick Boyer ((1982; Doc Adams #1; Edgar Award Winner; a boat, although it's hard to see)


Don't Point That Thing At Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1972; Mortdecai Trilogy #1; a bottle for drinking)


After You with the Pistol by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1979; Mortdecai Trilogy #2; a hand holding a weapon)


Something Nasty in the Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli (1976; Mortdecai Trilogy #3; the moon)


Missing Person by Patrick Modiano (1978; Nobel Laureate; shadowy figure)


Devices & Desires by P. D. James (1989; Adam Dalgliesh #8; a knife)

Book Beginning: Earthly Powers

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

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.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, 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.

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.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.

Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess. BEST OPENING SENTENCE EVER.

Sorry, I thought that deserved all caps. I've only read A Clockwork Orange, with mixed feelings, so I've let this one sit on my TBR shelf for too long. It is fantastic!

The narrator is a fairly famous, now old, English author asked to help canonize his former brother-in-law, the recently deceased Pope. Having early on broken -- reluctantly -- with the Church over his homosexuality, the request sends him into a reverie of his decades-long relationship with the priest who became the Pope who now may become a saint, as well as the state of his own soul.

I'm only 100 or so pages in with 500 to go, so I don't know what awaits, but I love it so far.

Since this is set, at least in the beginning, in Malta, it counts as my first book in the 2016 European Reading Challenge. There is still plenty of time to sign up! Click the link or the button below.

2016 Challenge: Back to the Classics Challenge

The Back to the Classics Challenge is hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. I'm signing up for 2016, even though I didn't do so well when I tried this one in 2012.

This time I am only shooting for six books, with a stretch goal of nine. My problem isn't with reading "classics" because I read a lot of books published before 1966 that would qualify. Where I come up short is fitting the books I read to the categories. I read a lot of books by women and a lot of classic detective novels. But I don't read many translations or short story collections and I rarely re-read a book. I'll try.

CATEGORIES

1. A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.

2. A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1966. Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later.

3. A classic by a woman author.

4. A classic in translation. Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language.

5. A classic by a non-white author. Can be African-American, Asian, Latino, Native American, etc.

6. An adventure classic - can be fiction or non-fiction. Children's classics like Treasure Island are acceptable in this category.

7. A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic. Dystopian could include classics like 1984, and children's classics like The Hobbit are acceptable in this category also.

8. A classic detective novel. It must include a detective, amateur or professional. This list of books from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction is a great starting point if you're looking for ideas.

9. A classic which includes the name of a place in the title. It can be the name of a house, a town, a street, etc. Examples include Bleak House, Main Street, The Belly of Paris, or The Vicar of Wakefield.

10. A classic which has been banned or censored. If possible, please mention why this book was banned or censored in your review.

11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college). If it's a book you loved, does it stand the test of time? If it's a book you disliked, is it any better a second time around?

12. A volume of classic short stories. This must be one complete volume, at least 8 short stories. It can be an anthology of stories by different authors, or all the stories can be by a single author. Children's stories are acceptable in this category also.

MY BOOK POSSIBILITIES AND THEIR CATEGORIES

Out of Africa by Isak Dineson (FINISHED; woman author)

Ape and Essence by Aldous Huxley (FINISHED; science fiction)

Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols (FINISHED; place name)

Orlando by Virginia Woolf (FINISHED; adventure - well, egghead adventure)

Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters (FINISHED; detective)

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (FINISHED; translation)

The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (FINISHED; 19th Century)

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark (FINISHED; 20th Century)

The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy (FINISHED; short stories)


NOTE: Updated November 23, 2016.

Teaser Tuesday: The Lightening Round

She wondered again why she tolerated and actually paid money to be part of this perverse and artificial world. Then, she looked in the mirror and she realized why.

-- The Lighening Round by Bruce Stewart. This romantic comedy brings love to the gym, but can romance blossom between lovers at different levels of the ultimate fitness challenge?

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.