Rose City Reader

Thursday, October 12, 2023

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.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Mating by Norman Rush -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me every Friday for Book Beginnings! 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.

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 are still posting Friday 56 teasers, even while Freda takes a break, and I will do the same. Please visit her Freda’s Voice blog even if there currently is no place to link your post.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

In Africa, you want more, I think.

-- From Mating by Norman Rush. This book has been on my TBR shelf for so many years! It always looks good, but it is a chunkster and I never get around to reading it. It won the National Book Award in 1991 and is, apparently, having a resurgence in popularity, according to the New York Times that describes it as a cult favorite.

That opening sentence doesn't do much for me one way or the other. But the book is fascinating to me. It is a novel about a thirtysomething anthropology grad student at loose ends in Botswana who becomes enthralled with the charismatic Nelson Denoon and the matriarchal utopian commune he runs in the Kalahari desert. The female protagonist is unnamed and the story told from her point of view, looking back over her relationship with Denoon. It's nerdy, and funny, and captivating.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

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

MY FRIDAY 56

I was wound up when I met Denoon. It was muggy, with freak intermittent blasts and lurches of hot wind, which was fine somehow when I was walking over to the reception with Z but nerve-wracking during the aeon we had to wait in a mob outside the locked gates of the house we were invited to.

Monday, October 2, 2023

Victober is here!

VICTOBER IS HERE!

One of my favorite things about the bookstagram corner if Instagram is that it introduced me to the idea of reading Victorian literature in October. What a cozy delight! Now I look forward to this tradition all year. It is a fun way to remember to read more classic books and it kicks off the holiday season for me.

The picture above is a messy pile of Victorian-era books, mostly novels and one small book of nonfiction – Thomas Carlyle’s Essay on Burns. That one is also the only one of this bunch I haven’t read yet. Can you spot the anomaly in the picture? Leave a comment with your answer.

Do you participate in Victober? You can join in whether you are on Instagram or not. (If you are, please find me @gilioncdumas so we can connect.) If you are a fellow bookstagrammer, there are official Victober hosts and prompts for book ideas. But you can take part on any platform, simply by reading a Victorian-era book in October. Even better if you use the #victober hashtag.

NOTE: The "Victorian era" is the span of years that Queen Victoria ruled England. She came to the throne in 1837 and died in 1901. Victorian literature is considered to be books by British authors published during her reign. Arguably, authors from other countries wrote in what could be thought of as a "Victorian style" during those years. For example, American authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne published his first collection of short stories in 1937 and died in 1864. French author Alexandre Dumas published most of his books, including The Three Musketeers, during Victoria's reign. Both these authors wrote books similar in style to Charles Dickens or Robert Louis Stevenson, luminaries of the Victorian era. But officially, Victorian literature is limited to authors under Victoria's reign.

MY VICTOBER BOOKS

This year will be the fifth year I've participated in Victober. My main book will be The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Ann Bronte. I already finished a short novella to kick off the Victober season. Here's my Victober list:

2023

Liza of Lambeth by W. Somerset Maugham (1897)

2022

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)

2021

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (1860)

2020

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (1853)
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens (1841)

2019

The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (1878)

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Exit Music by Ian Rankin -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The girl screamed once, only the once, but it was enough.

-- from Exit Music by Ian Rankin.

Exit Music is the 17th book in Ian Rankin's mystery series featuring police detective John Rebus. It is one of my very favorite series, in part because it is set in Edinburgh, a city I've visited a couple of times and love.

As much as I enjoy the John Rebus books, I've been reading the series for a long time. There are several new series I want to start, but am making an effort to finish this one and a couple of others before I do. I've been marching though these books -- this is the fifth one I've read this year -- but it's a long series! I still have seven more to go to finish all 24. And no doubt Ian Rankin will have another one out before I finish those.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

It's late in the fall in Edinburgh and late in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus. As he is simply trying to tie up some loose ends before his retirement, a new case lands on his desk: a dissident Russian poet has been murdered in what looks like a mugging gone wrong.

Rebus discovers that an elite delegation of Russian businessmen is in town, looking to expand its interests. And as Rebus's investigation gains ground, someone brutally assaults a local gangster with whom he has a long history.

Has Rebus overstepped his bounds for the last time? Only a few days shy of the end to his long, controversial career, will Rebus even make it that far?

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Exploring Wine Regions: The Central Coast of California by Michael Higgins -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

MY BOOK BEGINNING

It is important that we talk about terroir before we begin exploring this book.

-- from Exploring Wine Regions: The Central Coast of California by Michael Higgins.

This book about the wines of California's Central Coast is the third book in Michael Higgins's Exploring Wine Regions series. The first two books covered Bordeaux country in France and the wines of Argentina. Like the first two, this California book is a meticulously researched, insider account of wineries and vineyards, as well as a travel guide to the food, special lodging, sights, and history you will find.

This book focusses on the Central Coast of California, specifically Monterey, San Louis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties. This coastal area stretches from south of San Francisco to Santa Barbara, just north of Los Angeles.

I'm familiar with some of the wineries of the Central Coast, mostly those around Paso Robles, from when I lived in San Francisco. But we never did a deep dive into wines of this area. California is close to me here in Oregon and we have family in the Bay Area and Central Coast, so I plan to use this book to plan several wine-centered road trips.

You can read my review of Higgins's France and Argentina books here. Go to the Exploring Wine Regions website for more information about this book, the series, and Michael Higgins.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Exploring Wine Regions – California Central Coast is the third book in the series exploring a lesser-known area of the wine regions in California. Most everyone knows of Napa Valley and Sonoma County; however, the Central Coast Wine Regions are producing top-level, high-quality wines, and the tourism is extraordinary.

Twenty million years ago, the Pacific Plate arose from the Pacific Ocean hitting the North American Plate (Canada, United States and Mexico) leaving a sliver of land above the water along California’s coast south of San Francisco. This sliver of land has its own very special terroir highly conducive to making high-quality wines. This book takes you on a journey to discover these amazing wines.

Also, the tourism along the central coast of California is unmatched. The beaches, mountains and valleys are ever so enchanting. The wineries are engaging, have lots of tourism activities available, and are especially inviting and friendly, unlike other wine regions. It’s not uncommon to find the vintner or winemaker at the tasting room wanting to share their stories and their love of wine with you.

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Need Blind Admission by Kevin Myers -- BOOK BEGINNING

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me every Friday for Book Beginnings! 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.

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, Her event was a natural tie in with this event and there was a lot of cross over, so many people combined the two. Freda needs a break, but I hope she is back soon. Please visit her Freda’s Voice blog even if the Friday 56 is on hold indefinitely.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

William James was beyond saving when the Parker College security guards discovered his body sprawled near the community garden by the border of the affluent South Parker neighborhood.

-- from Need Blind Ambition by Kevin Meyers, out now from Beaufort Books.

Need Blind Ambition is the second novel from Kevin Meyers, a former journalist turned college administrator. I love the play on words in the title, the moody cover, and that first sentence. Wow! It really grabs you, doesn't it?

I only just got my copy and haven't started it yet. I can't wait! A novel of suspense set on a college campus is my cup of tea on any day. (I'm adding it to my list of campus novels right now.) But that this one is set in my town of Portland, Oregon makes it even more tantalizing.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add a link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag. Have fun!

It feels so strange to post my Book Beginning without a Friday 56 teaser! Here is more informaiton about Need Blind Ambition:

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

The desire for relevance--and to save his marriage--is ultimately what pushed Peter Cook to leave his beloved Alaska for the prestigious Parker College. Lured by the chance to work with his childhood political idol turned college president, Peter moves his family to Portland, Oregon to help promote his hero's fundraising initiative that would eliminate financial status from the college's admissions process.

Peter arrives on campus as the Great Recession looms, the stock market is trending toward disaster, and the opioid crisis has breached the walls of the privileged college. He quickly learns the reality of Parker College strays far from its professed idealistic mission after discovering a plot to cover-up felonious drug activity in return for a seven-figure payday to the Need Blind Campaign.

While plumbing the depths of his conscience for the conviction to do the right thing, Peter's untreated childhood trauma resurfaces, threatening to cloud his perception when it needs to be at its sharpest. Peter must stabilize his mental health while also trying to parse competing versions of "the truth" as law enforcement investigates the criminal conspiracy.

Need Blind Ambition asks: how far will a college stray to protect its reputation?

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Here's a quicky book beginnings post because I am running behind and still have a dozen things to do today, including making dinner.

Thanks for joining me every week for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Share the opening sentence (or so) from the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your eye, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The day broke gray and dull. The clouds hung heavily, and there was a rawness in the air that suggested snow.

-- from Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham. I am rereading this 20th Century classic as a buddy read on Instagram. It's a good one to read as an audiobook because that is not a title you want to be seen reading in public!

I read this in high school and found it rather plodding. But I love Maugham's short stories, so wanted to give it another try. I am now halfway through and still find it plodding. It definitely picked up when Philip goes to Paris to become an artist, but it will never win me over. It is on the Modern Library list of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. Please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings if you share on social media.

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 Of Human Bondage:

He knew that Miss Wilkinson was the daughter of his Uncle William’s last rector, and he had a wide acquaintance with the daughters of clergymen. They wore ill-cut clothes and stout boots.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me every Friday for Book Beginnings! 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.

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: 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 BOOK BEGINNING

"Hell is empty, Armand," said Stephen Horowitz.

-- from All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny. This is the 16th book in Louise Penny's "Three Pines" series of mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gemache.

Unlike most of the earlier books that are set in the tiny Quebec village of Three Pines, this one takes place in Paris. Gemache and his wife are in Paris for the birth of their granddaughter and become the center of a complicated murder mystery (as frequently happens to traveling police detectives).

The Three Pines series is a big favorite of mine. Are you a fan? There are currently 18 books in the series, so I am almost finished with it. Thankfully, Penny is not and comes out with a new book about every year.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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

MY FRIDAY 56

From All the Devils are Here:

She was about, she knew, to pass what pilots call the point of no return. One more keystroke and she’d be totally committed to this course of action.

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Unsettled by Patricia Reis -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here on Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Share the opening sentence (or so) from the book you are reading this week, or just a book that caught your fancy.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The real estate agent's message was curt.

-- From Unsettled by Patricia Reis, out October 10, 2023 by Sibylline Press.

Unsettled is Patricia Ries's debut novel. It is historical fiction with a braided narrative that takes the reader from present day to the 1870s world of German immigrants in Iowa. Our present day protagonist seeks to fulfill her father's dying wish by tracking their ancestor's history and discovering a family secret. Yes, please!

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the linky box below. Please use the hashtag #bookbeginnigns if you share on social media.

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 Unsettled:

I had heard of mechanical milking machines but could not imagine a cow putting up with a new-fangled thing like that. I placed my cheek against the cow's flank and spoke softly to her in German while I milked.

There's nothing that says "Iowa farm in 1870" like hand milking a cow!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

In this lyrical historical fiction with alternating points of view, a repressed woman begins an ancestral quest through the prairies of Iowa, awakening family secrets and herself, while in the late 1800s, a repressed ancestor, Tante Kate, creates those secrets.

Sibylline Press was started in 2023 by four women in the publishing industry to celebrate women authors over 50.

Thursday, August 17, 2023

The Messenger by Megan Davis -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Thank you for joining me here on Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings on Fridays! Please share the opening sentence or two from the book you are reading right now. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you it is not your current read.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

A shout from the darkness up ahead.

-- from the Prologue, “Christmas Eve[,] Montparnasse Cemetery,” in The Messenger by Megan Davis, out this month from Pegasus Books.

“Are you going to answer me?” my parole officer asks, her head on one side, brow heavy.

-- from chapter One, "Aubervilliers."

The Messenger is the debut novel by Megan Davis, a lawyer and screenwriter who lives in London. Set in Paris, it is the story of a 16 year old boy wrongly imprisoned for his father's murder. When he gets out of prison, he undertakes to find the real murderer. I love the premise and the Paris setting! This has all the hallmarks of a terrific thriller.

It is also going on my French Connections list!

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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

THE FRIDAY 56

From The Messenger:

On the next page, there's a map of the world. Auspicious death of a journalist is depicted by a red bullet hole.

I just started but I know I am going to race through this one!

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

A simple plan for a robbery takes a sinister turn when Alex's father is found dead. Despite protesting their innocence, Alex and Sami are imprisoned for murder. Seven years later, Alex is released from prison with a single purpose: discover who really killed his father.

As he searches for answers, Alex is tormented by his sense of guilt for his father (and for Sami) and, as he begins to uncover the truth about his father's killer, other shocking revelations with far-reaching consequences come to light. Will Alex be able to survive his own personal demons and, after all this time, bring the murderer to justice?

Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Please join me here on Rose City Reader every Friday for Book Beginnings! 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.

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: 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 BOOK BEGINNING

It is a little remarkable, that—though disinclined to talk overmuch of myself and my affairs at the fireside, and to my personal friends—an autobiographical impulse should twice in my life have taken possession of me, in addressing the public.

-- from the "Introductory" to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I believe his "first" autobiographical impulse was his earlier book, Twice Told Tales.

A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.

-- from Chapter 1, "The Prison-Door."

I just finished rereading The Scarlet Letter as part of a classics read along on Instagram. I read and loved it in high school, but that read was over 40 years ago. It was, eventually, as entertaining and melodramatic as I remembered from when I was a teen ager. And the vivid themes of love, passion, religious zealotry, redemption, parenting, and revenge struck me fresh. What an excellent book!

But I had forgotten that the fist 50 pages or so are Hawthorne's semi-autobiographical "Introductory" before he even starts the story of Hester Prynne and her scarlet letter. Yes, it frames the story, but most of it is just Hawthorne describing his work at the Customs House and some of the eccentric people he met there.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Scarlet Letter:

The bright morning sun, therefore, shone on broad shoulders and well-developed busts, and on round and ruddy cheeks, that had ripened in the far-off island, and had hardly yet grown paler or thinner in the atmosphere of New England. There was, moreover, a boldness and rotundity of speech among these matrons, as most of them seemed to be, that would startle us at the present day, whether in respect to its purport or its volume of tone.

It took me a while to get used to the old-fashioned writing. But once I did, The Scarlet Letter raced right along.

Thursday, August 3, 2023

He Laughed at Murder by Richard Keverne -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

I don't usually show my face on the blog, but I was having fun organizing my vintage Penguins and snapped this picture.

During the 2020 lockdown, I did a little retail therapy in lieu of a vacation and bought a job lot of over 400 vintage green tribands. Early Penguin books were published in "triband" editions, with a color stripe, white stripe, color stripe. Different colors were used for different sorts of books. The Penguin orange tribands were general fiction and literature, for example. Green tribands were mystery and crime.

Shortly after I got the set, I started a trial (by zoom because it was lockdown) that lasted for six weeks. I put the tribands in boxes to await new bookshelves. I got the bookshelves last year, but by that time had forgotten that I had not entered all the books into my master LibaryThing spreadsheet. I only recently remembered and started entering them. It takes a long time because the books don't have bar codes or ISBN numbers. Here's the stack I entered today.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Ahead of him the Great East Road stretched away into a misty distance, a broad, black ribbon shining in the winter sun.

-- from He Laughed at Murder by Richard Keverne.

I grabbed this one because it was o the top of the stack. Richard Keverne is unknown today -- there isn't even the shortest Wikipedia article about him -- and his books are out of print. But he must have been popular back in the 1930 - 1950 period when he wrote mysteries because my copies of his books are all reprints.

Most of the green tribands in my collection are by authors still read today, like Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh. I love those, of course, but I am also fascinated by the random books by authors who have disappeared from popular culture.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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

THE FRIDAY 56

Men were absurdly stupid when women flattered them so brazenly. And Michael was more stupid than she had expected.

From these snippets, I am curious about this book. Would you read it?

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Books I read in July -- MONTHLY WRAP UP

MONTHLY WRAP UP

July 2023

I finished 13 books in July, including three from my TBR 23 in '23 stack. There wasn’t a clunker in the bunch.

See any of your own favorites here?

PICTURED

French Ways and Their Meaning by Edith Wharton, a collection of WWI-era essays aimed at teaching American soldiers about France. One of my TBR 23 in '23 books. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham. This is an August buddy read, but I jumped the gun. As usual, I enjoyed the book much more than the movie, which I watched when it came out in 2006. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, which I loved. Yu won the 2020 National Book Award for this funny, insightful satire of Hollywood. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

A Passionate Man by Joanne Trollope. I love a good Aga Saga and Trollope always delivers. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Italian Fever by Valerie Martin is the story of a woman who goes to Italy when the novelist she works for dies there and she needs to wrap up his affairs. The details were more than a bit odd, but it kept me interested. 🌹🌹🌹1/2

The Sellout by Paul Beatty won the 2020 Booker Prize. It was a little scattered and magical for me, but I appreciate the talent it took to create it. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

S. by John Updike is a 1988 novel inspired by the Rajneeshees here in Oregon. It sagged for me some in the middle, but had a couple of twists that perked up the ending. All in all, a highlight of the month. It will stick with me. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Foxed Quarterly Vol. 77, the Spring 2023 issue. I keep track of when I finish these so I know which ones I’ve read. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Bobos in Paradise by David Brooks, because I always seem to be about 20 years behind with popular sociology books. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, a buddy read over on Instagram. So good! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George, another in her Inspector Lynley series I’m marching through. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

A Better Man by Louise Penny. I enjoyed this one as much as always and now only have three left! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

NOT PICTURED

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson, which I read with my ears. What a fantastic book! This shaggy novel set in 1920s London was the perfect companion to Vile Bodies, almost an homage. Another favorite. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

What were your standout reads in July?

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Welcome to Book Beginnings on Fridays, where participants share the opening sentence (or so) of the books they are reading this week. Please share yours! You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it this week.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

“Is it a hanging?” an eager newspaper delivery boy asked to no one in particular.

-- from Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson.

I'm a huge Kate Atkinson fan. Shrines of Gaiety is her most recent book, a novel about nightclub life in 1920s London. I just started the audiobook today and am already completely sucked in. Atkinson really knows how to spin a yarn.

Shrines is the perfect follow up to Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies that I finished last week. Both are about post-WWI, 1920s, London party life. The characters in Shrines even talk about the "Bright Young Things" in the society pages, which is exactly the framing for Waugh's book.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

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

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 Shrines of Gaiety:

When younger, Frobisher had imagined many qualities in his future wife, but he had not anticipated hysterical amnesia. Lottie’s story was tragic and complicated — again, something he had not predicted in his future wife.

A police officer with a mentally ill French wife, a librarian willing to go undercover as a nightclub hostess, missing girls, damaged war veterans, a nightclub queen looking to hand over her empire to her six children -- I'm only a quarter of the way through the book and am entranced.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Favorite Genres -- BOOK THOUGHTS

BOOK THOUGHTS

Here's a question for you: What are your favorite literary genres?

I will read most genres (except horror and erotica), but I mostly read literary fiction and mysteries. Within those broad categories, here are my favorite sub-genres.

CAMPUS NOVELS: My favorite type of novel! I keep a list of Campus Novels here on Rose City Reader. I like them snarky and glib. My favorites are the three originals – The Groves of Academe by Mary McCarthy, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis, and Eating People is Wrong by Malcolm Bradbury. I also love David Lodge, Julie Schumacher, and Robertson Davies. My unpopular take? I didn’t care for Stoner by John Williams, although recently reprinted and quite popular. Too much of a downer for me.

CLOSED ROOM MYSTERIES: Country house weekends, creepy institutions, ships, remote locations, whatever. I love a mystery with a confined location and limited set of characters. Some of my favorite authors are Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Ruth Ware, and Lucy Foley.

AGA SAGAS: Nothing appeals to me more than a story about messy village life getting sorted by a friendly and competent, usually female, protagonist. Maeve Binchy was the queen of these books. I also enjoy Joanna Trollope, Rosamunde Pilcher, and Anne Tyler.

ADVENTURES OF WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE: I love stories about women about my age coming into their own. As with my campus fiction, I prefer funny over maudlin. Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan is a perfect example. I also like books by Erica Jong, Penelope Lively, Barbara Pym, Faye Weldon (when she isn’t too mean), and even nonfiction like Frances Mayes and anything by or about Julia Child.

MIDDLE-AGED MEN BEHAVING BADLY: I made this oe up, just like Adventures of Women of a Certain Age. But I enjoy this kind of book as much as campus novels. There’s often overlap between the two. So many of my favorite authors write these stories. Jim Harrison, Philip Roth, Kinsgley Amis, John Updike, Malcolm Bradbury, Howard Jacobson, Richard Ford, David Lodge, and Michael Frayn are all high on my list.

How about you? What are your favorite literary genres?

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Three Fires, by Denise Mina -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

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: 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 BOOK BEGINNING

It's late afternoon as a Fra Girolamo Savonarola shuffles onto the raised stage at the front of the Hall of the Five Hundred.

-- from Three Fires, by Denise Mina, out August 1 from Pegasus Books. This is the story of Girolama Savonarola, a Dominican frier in 15th Century Florence. Savonarola rose as a puritanical leader of Florence after his preaching against the greed and vice of the ruling Medici family led to their loss of power.

Savonarola’s hellfire preaching inspired a series of fires around Florence lit to publicly burn books, fancy clothes, art, playing cards, musical instruments, and other symbols of immorality. These fires became known as the Bonfire of the Vanities.

I’m excited to get my hands on this advanced copy of Three Fires. I plan to enjoy it with a cool adult beverage out on my porch.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

MY FRIDAY 56

From Three Fires:

Savonarola appears at the palazzo door and the crowd outside cheer enthusiastically, touch his cassock as he comes past. They part to let him through.

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