Sunday, January 3, 2010

Today's poem - The Things by Donald Hall


The Things
by Donald Hall

When I walk in my house I see pictures,
bought long ago, framed and hanging
—de Kooning, Arp, Laurencin, Henry Moore—
that I’ve cherished and stared at for years,
yet my eyes keep returning to the masters
of the trivial: a white stone perfectly round,
tiny lead models of baseball players, a cowbell,
a broken great-grandmother’s rocker,
a dead dog’s toy—valueless, unforgettable
detritus that my children will throw away
as I did my mother’s souvenirs of trips
with my dead father, Kodaks of kittens,
and bundles of cards from her mother Kate.

More Donald Hall at Letters from a Hill Farm:




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Saturday, January 2, 2010

Book Reports/2010

Alphabetically by book title:

A Cotswold Killing by Rebecca Tope - first in the Thea Osborne series

A Graceful Death by Ann Summerville

A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie - fourth in the Jane Marple series



A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie - first in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series

All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie - second in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series

An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor - fourth in the Irish Country series

An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor - second in the Irish Country series




Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason - seventh in the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries


Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams - second in the Echo Falls series

Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer - a sequel to Rules of the Road

Betsy~Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace - first in the Betsy~Tacy series

Betsy~Tacy and Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace - second in the Betsy~Tacy series

Billy Boyle by James R. Benn - first in the Billy Boyle World War II Mystery series

Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker - first in the Bruno, Chief of Police series

Carney's House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace - companion book in the Betsy-Tacy series


Death of a Gentle Lady by M.C. Beaton - twenty-fourth in the Hamish Macbeth series

Death of a Witch by M.C. Beaton - twenty-fifth in the Hamish Macbeth series

Death On Demand by Carolyn G. Hart - first in the Death On Demand series

Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten - first in the Inspector Huss series

Dive Deep and Deadly by Glynn Marsh Alam - first in the Luanne Fogarty series

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn - first in the Chet and Bernie series

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams - first in the Echo Falls series



Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams - third in the Echo Falls series

Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason - third in the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries

Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie - third in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series


Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie - fourth in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series

Mrs. Malory: Death of a Dean by Hazel Holt - seventh in the Sheila Malory series

Murder on Campus by Hazel Holt - fifth in the Sheila Malory series

Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham - second in the Albert Campion series


Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell - first in the Bagthorpe series


Please Pass the Guilt by Rex Stout - a Nero Wolfe mystery




Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason - fourth in the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries

Superflous Death by Hazel Holt - sixth in the Sheila Malory series

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman - second in the Mrs. Pollifax series

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie - second in the Jane Marple series

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer - fifth in the Enola Holmes series




The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith - twelfth in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series

The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason - sixth in the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries


The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith - sixth in the Isabel Dalhousie series


The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear - seventh in the Maisie Dobbs series

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama - first in the Marriage Bureau for Rich People series


The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie - third in the Jane Marple series

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie - first in the Jane Marple series

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie - second in the Hercule Poirot series



The Stabbing in the Stables by Simon Brett - seventh in the Fethering series

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - first in the Flavia de Luce series

The Torso by Helene Tursten - second in the Inspector Irene Huss series

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman - first in the Mrs. Pollifax series

Thereby Hangs A Tail by Spencer Quinn - second in the Chet and Bernie series


Voices by Arnaldur Indridason - fifth in the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries

Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany - fourth in the Constable Molly Smith series


Alphabetically by author:


Peter Abrahams, books 1, 2, and 3





Joan Bauer, book 2


M.C. Beaton, book 2



Maeve Binchy, book 2

Maeve Binchy, book 3









Agatha Christie, books 5 and 6










Dorothy Gilman - books 2 and 3




Hazel Holt - book 2

Hazel Holt - book 3
















Spencer Quinn - book 2

















Martin Walker - books 1 and 2


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Books Read in 2010

You may click on highlighted titles to read a review:

December - 8

77. Mourn Not Your Dead - fourth in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series
by Deborah Crombie
mystery, 1996
Kindle book - 20
finished, 12/31/10

76. Mrs. Malory: Death of a Dean (also known as Death of a Dean) - seventh in the Mrs. Malory series
by Hazel Holt
mystery, 1996
finished, 12/28/10

75. A Murder is Announced - fourth in the Miss Marple series
by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1950
Kindle book - 19
finished, 12/27/10

by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1931
Kindle book - 18
finished, 12/20/10

by Maeve Binchy
fiction, 1996
second reading
Kindle book - 17
finished, 12/14/10

by Maeve Binchy
fiction, 1996
finished, 12/13/10

71. Dive Deep and Deadly - first in the Luanne Fogarty series
by Glynn Marsh Alam
mystery, 2000
Kindle book - 16
finished, 12/6/10

70. Leave the Grave Green - third in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series
by Deborah Crombie
mystery, 1995
Kindle book - 15
finished, 12/2/10

November - 3

69. A Cotswold Killing - first in the Thea Osborne series
by Rebecca Tope
mystery, 2004
Kindle book - 14
finished, 11/28/10

by Lee Smith
fiction, 1996
fourth reading
finished, 11/25/10

67. The Moving Finger - third in the Miss Marple series
by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1942
Kindle book - 13
finished, 11/22/10


October - 5

by Maeve Binchy
fiction, 2000
second reading
Kindle book - 12
finished, 10/25/10

65. All Shall Be Well - second in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series
by Deborah Crombie
mystery, 1994
Kindle book - 11
finished, 10/17/10

64. Arctic Chill - seventh in the Reykjafvík Murder Mysteries
by Arnaldur Indridason
translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb
mystery, 2005
finished, 10/16/10

63. Billy Boyle - first in the Billy Boyle World War II Mystery series
by James R. Benn
mystery, 2006
Kindle book - 10
finished, 10/11/10

62. The Dark Vineyard : A Mystery of the French Countryside - second in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
by Martin Walker
mystery, 2009
Kindle book - 9
finished, 10/1/10

September - 10

61. The Marriage Bureau for Rich People - first in the Marriage Bureau for Rich People series
by Farahad Zama
fiction, 2009
Kindle book - 8
finished, 9/26/10

60. The Double Comfort Safari Club - twelfth in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
by Alexander McCall Smith
fiction, 2010
Kindle book - 7
finished, 9/25/10

59. Bruno, Chief of Police - first in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
by Martin Walker
mystery, 2008
Kindle book - 6
finished, 9/18/10

58. The Body in the Library - second in the Miss Marple series
by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1942
Kindle book - 5
finished, 9/15/10

57. Winter of Secrets - third in the Constable Molly Smith series
by Vicki Delany
mystery, 2009
Kindle book - 4
finished, 9/12/10

56. Best Foot Forward - a sequel to Rules of the Road
by Joan Bauer
young adult fiction, 2005
library book
finished, 9/12/10

55. A Share in Death - first in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series
by Deborah Crombie
mystery, 1993
Kindle book - 3
finished, 9/10/10

54. The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing - second in the Vish Puri series
by Tarquin Hall
mystery, 2010
Kindle book - 2
finished, 9/6/10

by Ann Summerville
mystery, 2009
finished, 9/4/10

52. The Murder at the Vicarage - first in the Miss Marple series
by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1930
Kindle book - 1
finished, 9/2/10


August - 10

by Joan Bauer
young adult fiction, 1998
library book
finished, 8/29/10

50. Into the Dark - third in the Echo Falls series
by Peter Abrahams
young adult mystery, 2008
library book
finished, 8/25/10

49. The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax - second in the Mrs. Pollifax series
by Dorothy Gilman
mystery, 1970
third or fourth reading
library book
unabridged audio read by Barbara Rosenblat
finished, 8/25/10

48. Behind the Curtain - second in the Echo Falls series
by Peter Abrahams
young adult mystery, 2006
library book
finished, 8/22/10

47. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax - first in the Mrs. Pollifax series
by Dorothy Gilman
mystery, 1966
third or fourth reading
library book
unabridged audio read by Barbara Rosenblat
finished, 8/18/10

46. Down The Rabbit Hole - first in the Echo Falls series
by Peter Abrahams
young adult mystery, 2005
library book
finished, 8/16/10

by Allison Hoover Bartlett
nonfiction, 2009
library book
unabridged audio read by Judith Brackley
finished, 8/8/10

by Roy Blount, Jr.
nonfiction, 2008
library book
abridged audio read by the author
finished, 8/5/10

by Siobhan Dowd
juvenile mystery, 2007
finished, 8/4/10

42. American Bloomsbury
by Susan Cheever
nonfiction, 2006
second reading - book report here
library book
unabridged audio read by Kate Reading
finished, 8/2/10


July - 5

by Elizabeth Silverthorne
nonfiction, 1993
finished, 7/31/10

40. Thereby Hangs a Tail - second in the Chet and Bernie series
by Spencer Quinn
mystery, 2010
unabridged audio read by Jim Frangione
finished, 7/28/10

39. The Draining Lake - sixth in the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries
by Arnaldur Indridason
translated by Bernard Scudder
mystery, 2004
finished, 7/18/10

by Susan Isaacs
fiction, 2007
library book
unabridged audio read by Randye Kaye
finished, 7/16/10

37. A River in the Sky - 19th in the Amelia Peabody series
by Elizabeth Peters
mystery, 2010
unabridged audio read by Barbara Rosenblat
finished, 7/12/10


June - 6

36. The Lost Art of Gratitude - sixth in the Isabel Dalhousie series
by Alexander McCall Smith
fiction, 2009
unabridged audio read by Davina Porter
finished, 6/28/10

35. Voices - fifth in the Reykjavik Murder Mysteries
by Arnaldur Indridason
translated by Bernard Scudder
mystery, 2003
finished, 6/25/10

by Dorothy Gilman
mystery, 1975
third reading
unabridged audio read by Roslyn Alexander
finished, 6/23/10

33. Eloise
by Kay Thompson, drawings by Hilary Knight
children's picture book, 1955
library book
finished, 6/21/10

32. Mystery Mile - second in the Albert Campion series
by Margery Allingham
mystery, 1930
library book
unabridged audio read by Francis Matthews
library book
finished, 6/15/10

31. Silence of the Grave (Icelandic title, Grafarpögn) - fourth in the Reykjavík Murder Mysteries
translated by Bernard Scudder
mystery, 2002
finished, 6/14/10


May - 5

by Anne Tyler
fiction, 2009
library book
unabridged audio read by Arthur Morey
finished, 5/31/10

29. The Torso (Swedish title, Tatuerad Torso) - second in the Inspector Huss series
by Helene Tursten
translated by Katarina E. Tucker
mystery, 2000
finished, 5/30/10

28. Death On Demand - first in the Death On Demand series
by Carolyn G. Hart
mystery, 1987
library book
finished, 5/21/10

27. Detective Inspector Huss (Swedish title, Krossade tanghästen) - first in the Inspector Huss series
by Helene Tursten
translated by Steven T. Murray
mystery, 1998
finished, 5/17/10

26. The Mapping of Love and Death - seventh in the Maisie Dobbs series
by Jacqueline Winspear
mystery, 2010
library book
finished, 5/4/10


April - 8

25. Superfluous Death (US title - Mrs. Malory Wonders Why) - sixth in the Mrs Malory series
by Hazel Holt
mystery, 1995
finished, 4/30/10

24. Murder on Campus (US title - Mrs. Malory: Detective in Residence) - fifth in the Mrs Malory series
by Hazel Holt
mystery, 1994
finished, 4/28/10

23. Dog On It - first in the Chet and Bernie series
by Spencer Quinn
mystery, 2009
finished, 4/23/10

22. Arbor Day Square
by Kathryn O. Galbraith, illustrated by Cyd Moore
children's book, 2010
finished, 4/23/10

21. Jar City (also known as Tainted Blood; original Icelandic name was Myrin) - third in the Reykjavík Murder Mysteries
by Arnaldur Indridason
translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder
mystery, 2000
finished, 4/17/10

20. Betsy~Tacy and Tib - second in the Betsy~Tacy series
by Maud Hart Lovelace
juvenile fiction, 1941
read multiple times
finished, 4/13/10

by Candacy A. Taylor
nonfiction, 2009
finished, 4/8/10

18. Please Pass the Guilt - a Nero Wolfe mystery
by Rex Stout
mystery, 1973
finished, 4/7/10


March - 5

by Helen Simonson
fiction, 2010
finished, 3/29/10

16. Death of a Witch - twenty-fifth in the Hamish Macbeth series
by M.C. Beaton
mystery, 2009
library book
finished, 3/21/10

15. Death of a Gentle Lady - twenty-fourth in the Hamish Macbeth series
by M.C. Beaton
mystery, 2008
library book
finished, 3/17/10

14. The Stabbing in the Stables - seventh in the Fethering series
by Simon Brett
mystery, 2006
library book
finished, 3/12/10

nonfiction, 2006
finished, 3/4/10


February - 6

Being the First Part of The Bagthorpe Saga
by Helen Cresswell
juvenile fiction, 1977
second reading
library book
finished, 2/25/10

by Rick Bragg
nonfiction, 2009
finished, 2/23/10

10. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - first in the Flavia de Luce series
by Alan Bradley
mystery, 2009
finished, 2/20/10

by Barbara Pym
fiction, 1982 (published posthumously - submitted to twenty publishers, beginning in 1963 and refused)
finished, 2/11/10

by Maud Hart Lovelace
juvenile fiction, 1949
library book
finished, 2/3/10

by Catherine Seiberling Pond
nonfiction, 2007
finished, 2/2/10


January - 6

6. The Murder on the Links - second in the Hercule Poirot series
by Agatha Christie
mystery, 1923
finished, 1/28/10

5. An Irish Country Girl - fourth in the Irish Country series
by Patrick Taylor
fiction, 2010
finished, 1/21/10

4. The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline - fifth in the Enola Holmes series
by Nancy Springer
young adult mystery, 2009
library book
finished, 1/15/10

3. Betsy~Tacy - first in the Betsy~Tacy series
by Maud Hart Lovelace
juvenile fiction, 1940
read multiple times
finished, 1/10/10

by P.D. James
nonfiction, 2009
finished, 1/4/10

1. An Irish Country Village - second in the Irish Country series
by Patrick Taylor
fiction, 2008
library book
unabridged audio read by John Keating
finished, 1/3/10
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A little bookkeeping

The next couple of posts will be empty. They are just my collection places for this year's books.
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Friday, January 1, 2010

Typically British Reading Challenge

Book Chick City is hosting the Typically British Reading Challenge, which you know is right up my alley, or as the British say, street. I read a lot of British fiction, and so am joining the highest level:
"Cream Crackered" – Read 8 Typically British novels
For more information, you may click the picture on the sidebar of the adorable dog.

Addendum: On January 22, I decided to drop this challenge.
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You've Got Mail Reading Challenge

You may have seen a picture on the sidebar of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail. Well, Book Psmith is hosting a challenge in which we read:
the authors and books highlighted, mentioned or pictured throughout the film
I thought this sounded wonderful so I joined. Many of the books are children's books which I have either never read or haven't read in a long time. You may find the complete list and more information by clicking the photo from the movie.
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Reporting on the 2009 books

This is the book geek posting of the year because I like to know these statistics.

62 books read: 58 print; 4 audio

43 by women
19 by men

Genres:

29 fiction
22 mystery
6 nonfiction
4 juvenile
1 young adult

Publication dates:

27 - 2000s
6 - 1990s
2 - 1980s
6 - 1970s
1 - 1960s
3 - 1950s
5 - 1940s
7 - 1930s
3 - 1920s
2 - 1900-1919
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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay




62. Sarah's Key
by Tatiana de Rosnay
fiction, 2007
finished, 12/28/09







On Hallowe'en night some friends and Tom and I had an unusual evening. No, nothing eerie or scary. We went to visit our 'in-town' friends so we could see the little trick or treaters. In a while, two other couples came by and we all had dinner together. Eight adults who ate together for the first time ever without any of our children present. We remarked upon this fact quite often. As we were sitting around, a man asked Tom and I if we read. When we said yes, he began to rave about a book he and his wife had just read called Sarah's Key. The man said he couldn't put it down. Well, you gotta know this doesn't happen in my 'real' life very often. I have one friend with whom I talk books, but mostly that's it. Occasionally someone will mention a title, but for someone to love a book so much as this, well, I went right out and bought a copy.

Oh my gosh, I hated having to put it down to do other things in my life. It goes back and forth between 1942 and 2002 in France; a device I just love in books. We begin in 1942 with the dreaded banging on the door. A little girl and her mother are taken away. While they are packing up some things, the girl locks her younger brother in a secret cupboard, sure that she will be back soon to let him out. The father is hiding in the cellar when the police come. This sounds like other horror stories of the Nazi years, and it is, except for a startling fact. The men who come to get this Jewish family are not German, but French. One is the neighborhood policeman who used to pat the little girl on the head. Yes, the police are of course under German orders, but the cruelty they inflict upon their own fellow citizens makes them culpable in their own right.

In the next chapter, we meet forty-five year old American born Julia, who is married to a French man. They have an eleven year old daughter. The woman is a journalist and is going to do a story on what we now know as the Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup. On that awful day in July of 1942, thousands were taken away from their homes. She has never heard of the event. This may not be surprising because she is an American, but she finds people who went to school in France who never learned about it in school or from others. A sad, hidden secret.

Not only do the two stories alternate, they also interconnect, and there comes a point where the action stays in one period.

Some books are easier for me to write about than others. In a case like Sarah's Key, I really hate to give away the story. I knew nothing of this book except for our friend's enthusiasm, and I loved discovering the story for myself. If you want to know more details you can certainly find them at online bookstores or other blogs (though I haven't read about it anywhere yet). What I will say is that I was utterly in this book as I read it. I had to pull myself away to re-enter the world of my kitchen. I so rarely read something deemed as a 'bestseller' but I can see why this one is. I gave it to our daughter Margaret for Christmas, and she began and finished the book in a flash.

So, we have our friends, our daughter, its bestseller status, and now me. I can't imagine anyone not falling under the spell of this fantastic story. The event is true and the story is fictional, though the reader feels certain that it is real in many ways. The book is suspenseful and warm at the same time. We feel for the woman in the present day, as we feel for the young girl in 1942. Excellent book, that's all I can say.

Sarah's Key was great way to end a great year of reading. I won't do any favorites lists, other than the crime fiction one I did the other day. Mostly each and every book was my favorite while I was reading it; from Laurie Colwin to Henning Mankell. In general, I don't read books which I don't love. If I don't enjoy being within its pages, I put it aside and pick up another. Reading is my fondest pastime, which the dictionary tells us is:
an activity that someone does regularly for enjoyment rather than work.
Exactly.
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Interesting article about Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell creates a 'female Wallander' following star's suicide
Grief-stricken author ends award-winning crime series after actress who played Wallander's daughter takes her own life

Paul Gallagher
The Observer, Sunday 27 December 2009

As a dysfunctional, divorced, middle-aged man with personal issues, Swedish detective Kurt Wallander has become a famous figure in crime fiction.

His creator, Henning Mankell, is about to introduce a female protagonist, caught up in an equally grim world of bizarre multiple murders, who may prove as popular as the portly figure who has captivated millions of readers worldwide. But Judge Birgitta Roslin might never have been created had a tragic, lonely death close to Mankell not forced him to adapt his award-winning formula.

Wallander first appeared in Sweden in 1991 in Faceless Killers, with the English translation arriving in 1997. Nine Wallander mysteries were written, set in bleak, flat farmland inhabited by few around the small town of Ystad in southern Sweden. Having introduced Wallander's daughter, Linda, early on as a supporting character, and later as a policewoman, played by Johanna Sällström in the Swedish TV series, the author decided to "retire" the male detective and embark on a natural progression.

In Mankell's imagination, Before the Frost, published in 2002, was to be the first in a projected three-part series where Linda would take centre stage. But in 2007, Sällström committed suicide. The 32-year-old was found alone by police at her Malmö home on 13 February 2007, shortly after being released from a psychiatric unit.

Depression, traced to her surviving the 2004 tsunami when she was on holiday in Thailand with her young daughter, Tallulah, was believed to be the cause, though no suicide note was found. Sällström had clung on to life that day by holding on to a tree with one hand and her three-year-old daughter with the other. The experience had a devastating effect.

After her death, Mankell was unable to write another novel with Linda, saying his grief and guilt were too great. The result was Birgitta Roslin, who has to endure the same sort of grim daily grind as Wallander. She plays the central role in The Man From Beijing, Mankell's latest novel, to be released in the UK in February.

Traditional Wallander themes are all present, with the opening chapter containing a crime as horrific as the one that first confronted Wallander in Faceless Killers: the victim of a savage murder is found in a sleepy hamlet buried in the snow. A crime unprecedented in Swedish history is uncovered, with 18 more victims found dead. Roslin reads about the massacre and realises she has a family connection to one of the couples and decides to investigate after disagreeing with the police's actions.

Although Mankell released a new Wallander book, The Worried Man, this year in Sweden – 10 years after the detective's last appearance and with an English translation expected by 2011 – the author has said it will be the final novel in the series. But British fans will only have to wait another week for a fix, with Kenneth Branagh returning on 3 January in the first of three new feature-length episodes based on Mankell's books.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

My top ten crime fiction reads of 2009

Kerrie is asking for people's top ten favorite crime fiction reads of this year from which she will collate the books and come up with the best crime fiction reads of 2009.

These are the rules:

it is about crime fiction you've read in 2009. Year of publication doesn't matter.

about 10 titles in the format of title, author (no need for description etc).

any order will do. If you think one was so much better than the others, you might like to put it in your list twice.

You have until Jan 7 to do it.

You can help on your own blog by writing about what I am doing and pointing people to this post, so they can come here and contribute their list.

If you want your lists to be counted, you'll need to go to the site and leave them in the comments.

Here are my favorites in alphabetical order. The two I loved the very best are those by Henning Mankell.

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear (sixth in Maisie Dobbs series)

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (first in Wallander series)

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear (fourth in the Maisie Dobbs series)

Ruling Passion by Reginald Hill (third in Dalziel & Pascoe series)

The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall (first in Vish Puri series)

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan by Nancy Springer (fourth in Enola Holmes series)

The Cruellest Month by Hazel Holt (second in the Mrs. Malory series)

The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell (second in Wallander series)

The Skeleton in the Grass by Robert Barnard (stand-alone)

Valley of the Lost by Vicki Delany (second in Molly Smith series)

If you want to read my book reports, you may click the titles.
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Monday, December 28, 2009

First line meme

This idea came to me from Melanie via Kate.

Once again, this fun meme is great for the end of the year. Take the first line of each month's post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year.

I found it to be quite an interesting little exercise. It very clearly shows the sort of stuff I write about here. Poems, books, quotes, farm and garden life, my animals, and pictures, with a little music thrown in. Who would think that just the first post of each month could exemplify one's blog?


January: (from a poem) Another fresh new year is here...

February: (from a book report) I wonder if all of us who write about books on our blogs have our special favorite reviews.

March: (from a book report) I didn't keep all the books from when my kids were little, but I knew that I would want to read the Melendy family series again someday.

April: (talking about a singer) I'm admitting it to the world.

May: I wanted to pass along some information regarding my cat, just in case even one person is in a similar situation.

June: (from a poem) If I might see another Spring,

July: (from a today's picture)






August: (from a quote du jour) At the height of the Nazi blitz of London in 1940, special 'raid libraries' were set up at the reeking entrances to the underground shelters to supply, by popular demand, detective stories and nothing else.

September: (from a today's picture) You might ask, why on earth is she showing a dead tree?






October: (I included the title to make sense of the first line) Not a plague of locusts, but...
... of ladybugs.

November: (from a quote du jour) I like spring, but it is too young.

December: (from a book report on a Christmas book) I've often longed to spend Christmastime in England.
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An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor


61. An Irish Country Doctor - first in the Irish Country series
by Patrick Taylor
fiction, 2007
library copy
unabridged audio cd, read by John Keating
finished, 12/23/09




After enjoying An Irish Country Christmas so much, I listened to the first in the series, An Irish Country Doctor, which chronicles the coming to Ballybucklebo of young Doctor Barry Laverty. I am completely smitten with these books, and am now listening to the second in the series. I love the characters, and how they connect to one another in the village. I find the medical treatments in this small place in the mid-1960s fascinating. And it is lovely watching this young doctor fall in love with the place and its people. And now, I'll let the author speak for himself.

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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Our Own Christmas Story

Bo Ling Chop Suey Palace as it appeared in A Christmas Story in 1983.



Yesterday Tom read some Christmas wishes online that went something like this: we wish you a happy day, whether you are celebrating around the tree or going out to a movie and then a Chinese restaurant. I thought, my gosh, we are going to be an alternative stereotype this day! Because, as I wrote, we celebrated around the tree on the 24th, so on the real Christmas day we went to the opening of Sherlock Holmes and ate out afterwards at our favorite Chinese restaurant. It wasn't this one, which was used in the movie A Christmas Story, but was our favorite local Chinese restaurant, where we walk in and they know us, and even know what we like to order. We went with friends and had just the best time. The restaurant was packed and the man who waited on us said it's like this every Christmas. Incidentally, I loved the movie. It doesn't hurt that it stars two of my favorites, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, as the great detective and Dr. Watson. All the trailers have shown lots of action, but there are also quieter, more contemplative parts. I have never enjoyed these characters as much as in this film. And Rachel McAdams was great as Irene Adler. You get to see London as it really must have been in those Victorian days. I could almost feel the air and smell the smells.
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Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas to you!

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Snapshots

Because Margaret has to work on Christmas day, we celebrated our Christmas this evening. It was such a lovely time.




Are we watching a cheery Christmas movie? Nope. Michael gave us Jaws!


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