September 2025 Reading

September was a varied month beginning with a long but absorbing read of The Spring of the Ram, second in Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolò series. I loved Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and enjoyed the movie a few weeks later (not as good as the book – surprise!). I also really enjoyed Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure, which was full of great characters.

Miss P arrives for a job

Six Degrees of Separation - from Knife to The Witch of Blackbird Pond

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month’s starting point is Salman Rushdie’s memoir, Knife.

My August 2024 Reading

No 5s this month: I liked The Briar Club but not as much as Kate Quinn's other books. I enjoyed Long Island and will suggest my book group reads it but his style is very understated and I wasn’t sure I understood the ending. The Rom-Commers was fun and I’ve decided I like Center’s books much better than Emily Henry’s: although their styles are not dissimilar, I think Center demonstrates more sense of humor.

My May 2024 Reading

There is no doubt my two favorite books of the month were Going Zero, a thriller involving a chase I am still thinking about, and The Diamond Eye, about a Russian sniper during WWII. I suspect they will be on my "Best of 2024" list and I recommend both of them highly.  Overall, there were some very strong and some disappointing books with two good rereads, Lucy Parker's Act Like It and The Emerald City of Oz for Ozathon24.

My October 2023 Reads

October was a busy month with a business trip to Tulsa (no direct flights, so lots of reading time), some reading for the 1962 Club, and hosting my book group’s discussion of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (not everyone finished it). My favorites this month were Just Another Missing Person, The Serpent Pool, Witch of the Glens, and two from D.E. Stevenson, along with several rereads.  Three reads this month were audiobooks.

My August 2022 Reads

A few new authors for me this month: Martin Edwards, a British mystery writer and expert, whose newest nonfiction work was just reviewed by the New York Times; Sonali Dev, with a modern version of Pride and Prejudice; and Sarah Stewart Taylor, a writer from Vermont who set her suspense novel in Ireland.

Mystery/Suspense

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie – What started off as a joke with seven alarm clocks turns into a sinister country house murder. My review.

WWW Wednesday – August 17, 2022

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Spell the Month in Books – August

Can you Spell the Month in Books?  This meme is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on the second Saturday of each month.

November 2021 Reads

November was a great month of reading. I especially enjoyed A Single Thread, set between the wars in England; The Secret River, a historical novel about a convict rebuilding his life in Australia; State of Terror, a thriller by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny; and my reread of The Parfit Knight by Stella Riley, a regency with a blind heroine.  Also, amazingly, this is my 1000th blog post!

WWW Wednesday – December 1, 2021

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Right now, I am reading And She Was by Alison Gaylin, suspense fiction about a woman haunted by the abduction of her sister when they were both children.

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Title: Things You Save in a Fire
Author: Katherine Center
Publication: St. Martin’s Press, hardcover, 2019
Genre: Fiction
Setting: Present-day Massachusetts

Description: Cassie Hanwell is a firefighter who has fought for and earned the respect of her peers. Yet she has never forgotten the worst day of her life: her 16th birthday when her mother, Diana, walked out on the family.