Awhile back I posted a few books from my Bookmarks Magazine that sounded interesting to me. One of them was the Cliff Janeway series by John Dunning. "Booked to Die" is the first in the series about "a tough, book-loving homicide detective". Based on my recommendation, my mom read the whole series. She said the first three books were good and interesting. They talked quite a bit about the technical side of book collecting. And although the last couple were still good, there weren't quite as good because they weren't focused as much on the book part of the series.
I haven't read any of these yet, but hope to start the first one sometime in the near future. It's on my must-read list. :-)
I'm about 50 pages into The Shadow of the Wind and am enjoying it so far. I'll post a full review when I'm finished!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Hopefully, coming soon to a blog near you!
A post from Holly!! My thanks to Allison and Kirsten for keeping this blog going in my non-reading stage. :-) We are moved into our new house and I am in the process of unpacking. Sadly, Andrew shoved all my book boxes to the basement. I'm not really sure what he thinks will come of them down there. Since, well, I have a plan for them, of course, to go on nice newly purchased bookshelves in our bedroom once we buy nice new bedroom furniture. Um, who knows when that will be. So here's hoping that someone paid attention to my amazon wishlist and maybe I'll get some fun books for Christmas.
But in the meantime, I shall be writing a review in the next month at least! I know you are all on the edges of your seats! I joined a book club! A real live book club! I've wanted to do this for years and just haven't had the right opportunity. My good friend Claire, who happens to live around here, has been going to a book club for about 5 or 6 years now, and she asked if I wanted to join. So I'll hopefully be attending their January meeting. The book is The Shadow of the Wind by Caros Ruiz Zafon. It received great reviews on both the Barnes and Noble and Amazon websites. I'll let you all know what I think!
But in the meantime, I shall be writing a review in the next month at least! I know you are all on the edges of your seats! I joined a book club! A real live book club! I've wanted to do this for years and just haven't had the right opportunity. My good friend Claire, who happens to live around here, has been going to a book club for about 5 or 6 years now, and she asked if I wanted to join. So I'll hopefully be attending their January meeting. The book is The Shadow of the Wind by Caros Ruiz Zafon. It received great reviews on both the Barnes and Noble and Amazon websites. I'll let you all know what I think!
So mysterious!
I have been reading, just not posting much about it. I've mostly been on a mystery kick:
Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron. Since posting a review of the first, I've read #2 (Jane and the Man of the Cloth) and #3 (Jane and the Wandering Eye) and they did not disappoint. There's something a little poignant in knowing Jane Austen's biography when reading these--I know how many years she has left to live, and I know the outcome of her romantic entanglements. But somehow, this doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the stories, which is a credit to Barron.
The Flaming Luau of Death by Jerrilyn Farmer. This is the most recent (out in paperback, anyway...I don't buy mysteries in hardback) in her series about Madeline Bean, a party planner in LA. She has two fun assistants, and her parties always end one way...with police tape and a chalk outline. Seriously, who would hire this woman to plan a party after a half dozen or so The first in Sympathy for the Devil. I rather like these, and this latest was very enjoyable.
Re-reading the Diane Mott Davidson series. The first is Catering to Nobody. These are about Goldy, a caterer with a son who goes from around 10 years old into his teenaged years. She gets married during the course of the series. Each book includes a handful of recipes, some of which are really excellent. I have mixed feelings about these. I always enjoy them, but there are little annoyances. For example, in every book she has Goldy look in the mirror and describe herself, which is a pretty lame device. In every book, she brings up the thumb that her ex-husband broke in three places. Arch (her son) can be a real pain in the patoot, but she puts up with his moodiness and flat-out jerky behavior. She uses adjectives like there might be a shortage soon. And a lot of her causes of death are really convoluted, on par with the terrorist plot in Snakes on a Plane for sheer plausibility. That said, I like them anyway. Maybe I cut her some slack because I *adore* her recipe for Grand Marnier Cranberry Muffins, but I like Goldy, and the investigations are always interesting. So if you're looking for a new series to try, give the first book a read and see how much these things bother you. I can obviously get past them, since I'm re-reading the series for the umpteenth time.
That's it for now!
Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron. Since posting a review of the first, I've read #2 (Jane and the Man of the Cloth) and #3 (Jane and the Wandering Eye) and they did not disappoint. There's something a little poignant in knowing Jane Austen's biography when reading these--I know how many years she has left to live, and I know the outcome of her romantic entanglements. But somehow, this doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the stories, which is a credit to Barron.
The Flaming Luau of Death by Jerrilyn Farmer. This is the most recent (out in paperback, anyway...I don't buy mysteries in hardback) in her series about Madeline Bean, a party planner in LA. She has two fun assistants, and her parties always end one way...with police tape and a chalk outline. Seriously, who would hire this woman to plan a party after a half dozen or so The first in Sympathy for the Devil. I rather like these, and this latest was very enjoyable.
Re-reading the Diane Mott Davidson series. The first is Catering to Nobody. These are about Goldy, a caterer with a son who goes from around 10 years old into his teenaged years. She gets married during the course of the series. Each book includes a handful of recipes, some of which are really excellent. I have mixed feelings about these. I always enjoy them, but there are little annoyances. For example, in every book she has Goldy look in the mirror and describe herself, which is a pretty lame device. In every book, she brings up the thumb that her ex-husband broke in three places. Arch (her son) can be a real pain in the patoot, but she puts up with his moodiness and flat-out jerky behavior. She uses adjectives like there might be a shortage soon. And a lot of her causes of death are really convoluted, on par with the terrorist plot in Snakes on a Plane for sheer plausibility. That said, I like them anyway. Maybe I cut her some slack because I *adore* her recipe for Grand Marnier Cranberry Muffins, but I like Goldy, and the investigations are always interesting. So if you're looking for a new series to try, give the first book a read and see how much these things bother you. I can obviously get past them, since I'm re-reading the series for the umpteenth time.
That's it for now!
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