Terri (tymfos) departs the cozy, comfy reading den. Thread 5: racing through the summer

Hi! I'm Terri. Welcome to my new thread! The year is flying by, and I'm racing through some of the books on my "to read" list!



This is the fifth installment of my 2013 Cozy, Comfy Reading Den. I'm out of the den more this time of year, but I still keep reading.

This is my primary challenge for the 2013 year. Everything I read will wind up listed in this challenge.




I read a wide variety of things. I tend to read a lot of mysteries, but I like other kinds of fiction and a lot of non-fiction. I have a weakness for disaster books, and I enjoy reading a lot of history.

Oh, and a word about my rating system? I don't have one. It's always a seat-of-the-pants, gut-reaction kind of thing when I try to decide how many stars a particular book will get. I freely admit how arbitrary this is.

I welcome all comments (except spam) and enjoy having visitors post here. So come on into my cozy reading den, pull up a chair and and let's chat about books and whatever else is on our minds!

THE BOOKS: First Quarter


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Books finished in JANUARY
1. Whack-A-Mole by Christ Grabenstein (E-BOOK, Fiction)
2. The Bourbon Street Ripper by Leo King (E-BOOK, Fiction)
3. The Man Called Cash by Steve Turner (AUDIO)
4. Last Man Out by Melissa Fay Greene
5. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman (ER book)
6. Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson
7. A Haunted Love Story: The Ghosts of the Allen House by Mark Spencer (E-book)
8. The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell (AUDIO)


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Books finished in FEBRUARY
9. The Sandburg Connection by Mark deCastrique (E-BOOK)
10. Toms River by Dan Fagin (LT ER Book)
11. Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger


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Books finished in MARCH
12. Midnight by Dean Koontz (AUDIO)
13. Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane
14. December's Thorn: A Fever Devilin Novel by Phillip DePoy
15. Still Life with Murder by P.B. Ryan (E-book)
16. A Veiled Antiquity by Rett MacPherson
17. Haunting at Hensley Hall by Merabeth James (E-BOOK)
18. Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly by Jennifer Fleischner
19. Time for God by Jacques Philippe
20. Killer Show: The Station Nightclub fire by John Barylick (LT ER book)
21. The White Lioness by Henning Mankell (AUDIO)
22. Dangerous Undertaking by Mark de Castrique (e-book)
23. You Can't Lose 'em All: The Year the Phillies finally won the World Series by Frank Fitzpatrick (non-fiction, from TBR shelf)
24. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch (AUDIO)
25. Red Knife by William Kent Krueger (Fiction, ILL)
26. Let the Devil Sleep by John Verdon (e-book from library)

Abandoned (at least for now):
The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln by Kate Clifford Larson (AUDIO)

THE BOOKS: Second Quarter


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Books finished in APRIL
27. Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy
28. American Lightning by Howard Blum (AUDIO NON-FICTION)
29. The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife by Connie Scovill Small (non-fiction)
30. Come Thirsty by Max Lucado (e-book from library)
31. Deadly Night by Heather Graham (AUDIO) from library
32. Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart
33. A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson (AUDIO from library)
34. Faithful Place by Tana French (e-book from library)
35. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard (mix of e-book and audio book)
36. Psalms: The Sunrise of Hope by Bob Saffrin (devotional -- e-book)
37. The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby (AUDIO)
38. Black Seconds by Karin Fossum (Mystery Fiction)
39. The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers by Amy Hollingsworth


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Books finished in MAY
40. Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane
41. The Gauguin Connection by Estelle Ryan (E-BOOK)
42. A Place of Execution by Val McDermid (AUDIO)
43. Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger (mystery/fiction)
44. The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell (AUDIO)
45. Grave Undertaking by Mark de Castrique (e-book)
46. Autism & Asperger's Syndrome in Layman's Terms by Raymond Le Blanc (e-book)
47. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
48. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill
49. The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson (AUDIO)
50. Site Unseen by Dana Cameron (e-book)
51. Death Without Company by Craig Johnson (AUDIO)

ABANDONED:
Setup on Front Street by Mike Dennis (just plain awful)
Rebecca by Daphne du Marier (AUDIO) (not in mood for re-read)
Are You There Alone: the Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates by Suzanne O'Malley (not in mood for subject matter)


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Books finished in JUNE
52. Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein (mystery fiction)
53. The Deepest Water by Kate Wilhelm (AUDIO fiction)
54. Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler (E-BOOK fiction)
55. Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson (AUDIO)
56. Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran (E-Book)
57. Death in the Baltic by Cathryn Prince (ER book, non-fiction)
58. A Cape May Diamond by Larry Enright (E-book)
59. Haunted Jersey Shore by Charles A. Stansfield Jr.
60. Another Man's Moccasins by Craig Johnson (AUDIO)
61. Vermillion Drift by William Kent Krueger (AUDIO/HARD COPY)

THE BOOKS: THIRD QUARTER


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Books finished in JULY
62. River of Darkness by Rennie Airth (e-book)
63. Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger
64. The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell (AUDIO)
65. Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein (E-book)
66. Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes by Dwight Boyer (non-fiction)
67. The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson (AUDIO)
68. Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist (fiction)
69. Trickster's Point by William Kent Krueger (AUDIO)
70. Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson (AUDIO)
71. The Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves (e-book)


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Books finished in AUGUST:
72. It Happens in the Dark by Carol O'Connell (ER book)
73. A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton
74. Blood Atonement by Dan Waddell
75. Winter of the Wolf Moon by Steve Hamilton
76. A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow
77. A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleves
78. Murder in My Back Yard by Ann Cleeves
79. Sidetracked by Henning Mankell (AUDIO)
80. Haunted Lakes by Frederick Stonehouse
81. A Darker Domain by Val McDermid (AUDIO)
82. The Dante Connection by Estelle Ryan (E-BOOK)
83. The Alphabet of Grace by Frederick Buechner (Devotional, E-BOOK)


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Books finished in AUGUST
84. Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson (AUDIO)
85. Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger (AUDIO)
86. Broken Harbor by Tana French
87. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill
88. Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan
89. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman (audio and hard copy ILL)
90. A Reason to Live by Matthew Iden (e-book)
91. To Sleep With the Angels by David Cowan (non-fiction)

Currently Reading:
Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke
Maine Ghosts and Legends by Thomas Verde
Murder Bay by David R. Horwitz (e-book)
Dave Barry is Not Making This Up by Dave Barry (audio book / humor)
The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell (audio book / mystery)
The Ghosts of Virginia Volume II by L. B. Taylor

Temporarily Abandoned:
They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by De Anne Blanton (Non-fiction)
So Cold a Sky by Karl Bohnak

COVERS OF BOOKS CURRENTLY READING:

FICTION / MYSTERY
NON-FICTION (folklore)
E-BOOK AUDIO BOOK AUDIO BOOK (HUMOR)

MY OTHER CHALLENGES:

I'm also participating in the 13 in 13 Category Challenge:



http://www.librarything.com/topic/142659
http://www.librarything.com/topic/155969

and in the ROOTS (Read Our Own Tomes) Challenge (for clearing off those TBR shelves):



http://www.librarything.com/topic/145564

THE SERIES I'M READING


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RACING TO READ MY SERIES!

A. CHECKERED FLAG: Series that I'm actually caught up/finished with those which have been published!!!
Blood Detective/Nigel Barnes series by Dan Waddell (have read both)
Cork O'Connor series by William Kent Krueger. (have read all 13)
Dave Gurney series by John Verdon. (have read all three)
Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French. (have read all 4)
Elm Haven series by Dan Simmons (read both)
Fever Devilin series by Philip DePoy. (have read all seven)
Flap Tucker series by Philip DePoy (have read all 5)
Genevieve Lenard mysteries by Estelle Ryan: The Dante Connection (have read both)
Kenzie/Gennaro series by Dennis Lehane. (have read all six)
Lincoln Perry series by Michael Koryta (have read all four)
Mallory series by Carol O'Connell (have read all ten already published plus ER of 11th not-yet-published installment!)
Rev. Claire Ferguson series by Julia Spencer Fleming (have read all seven -- #8 due out in Novemer )

B. WHITE FLAG LAP -- ONE TO GO!: Favorite Series that I am very actively reading, only one left to read that has been published
Sam Blackman series by Mark deCastrique. Next up: A Murder in Passing, #4 of 4
Samantha Kincade series by Alafair Burke. Next: Close Case, #3 of 3
Shetland Quartet by Ann Cleeves. Next up: Dead Water #5 of 5 (not readily available)
Three Pines/Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. Next: How the Light Gets In, #9 of 9 (just arrived at public library)

C. GREEN FLAG LAPS: Favorite Series that I am very actively reading -- not as far along
Alex McNight series by Steve Hamilton. Next up: The Hunting Wind, #3 of 10
Buryin' Barry mysteries by Mark deCastrique. Next up: Foolish Undertaking, #3 of 5 (owned)
Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke. Next: Jolie Blon's Bounce, #12 of 20 (local library)
Inspector Sejir series by Karin Fossum (English Publication Order). Next: The Water's Edge, #6 of 10 (local library)
John Ceepak series by Chris Grabenstein. Next: Rolling Thunder, #6 of 9
John Madden series by Rennie Airth. Next up: The Blood-Dimmed Tide, #2 of 3
Kurt Wallander series by Henning Mankell. Next: The Fifth Woman, #6 of 10
Torie O'Shea series by Rett MacPherson. Next up: A Comedy of Heirs, #3 of 11 (owned)
Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson. Next up: As the Crow Flies, #8 of 9 (not counting the short stories that fall in between books)

D. YELLOW FLAG: Other series to continue, but I've slowed down for now:
Alexandra Cooper series by Linda Fairstein. Next:Hell Gate, #12 of 15 (library)
Alex Cross series by James Patterson. Next:Alex Cross' Trial, #15 of 21 (library)
Benjamin January by Barbara Hambly. Next: Sold Down the River, #4 of 12 (owned)
Bryant & May by Christopher Fowler. Next: The Water Room, #2 of 10 (CLP/FLP download)
Commissario Brunetti series by Donna Leon. Next: Death in a Strange Country, #2 of 21 (at library; I own #3)
Crumley mysteries by Ray Bradbury. Next: Graveyard for Lunatics, #2 of 3 (owned)
David Ash series by James Herbert. Next: Ghosts of Sleath, #2 of 3 (at library)
Dr. Siri series by Colin Cotterill. Next up: Anarchy and Old Dogs, #4 of 8 (owned)
Eden Moore series by Cherie Priest. Next: Wings to the Kingdom, #2 of 3 (I own #2 & 3)
Emma Fielding series by Dana Cameron. Next: Grave Consequences, #2 of 6 (download FLP)
Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson. Next up: A Necessary End, #3 of 21
Inspector Erlendur (UK publication order) by Arnaldur Indrudason. Next: Silence of the Grave, #2 of 9 (county Library)
Inspector Ramsay by Ann Cleeves. Next: A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy, #3 of 6 (owned)
Joe Pickett mysteries by C.J. Box. Open Season Next up: Savage Run, #2 of 14 (owned)
Kate Burkholder by Linda Castillo. Next: Breaking Silence, #3 of 5 Gone Missing, #4 of 5 (CLP audio download)
Lamb/Holly series by Belinda Bauer. Next: Darkside, #2 of 3 (owned)
Marty Singer series by Matthew Iden: Next: Blueblood, #2 of 3 (owned)
Merrily Watkins series by Phil Rickman. Next: The Cure of Souls, #4 of 12 (owned)
Mistress of the Art of Death, by Ariana Franklin. Next: The Serpent's Tale, #2 of 4 (owned)
Simon Serralier series by Susan Hill. First up: The Risk of Darkness, #3 of 6 (just purchased)
Temperence Brennan series by Kathy Reichs. Next: 206 Bones #12 of 16
Tess Monaghan series by Laura Lippman. Next: Another Thing to Fall, #10 of 11
White House Chef series by Julie Hyzy. Next: Eggsecutive Orders, #3 of 6

E. ONE-OFF DEALS: Series I started reading out-of-order once in a while over the years as I came upon volumes:
(I'm not sure which books I've read in some of these series!)
Ballad novels by Sharyn McCrumb
D.D. Warren series by Lisa Gardner.
Elizabeth MacPherson series by Sharyn McCrumb
Faith Fairchild mysteries by Katherine Hall Page (I own some unread)
Harmony series by Philip Gulley (first in County Library)
Kate Shugak series by Dana Stabenow (recently went back and read #1 in series)
Michael Kelley series by Michael Harvey (read 2nd; own 1st)
Mickey Rawlings series by Tron Soos
Penn Dutch Inn mysteries by Tamar Myers (I own some unread; library has some I've not read)
Richard Christie series by Kathleen George (read 4th of 4 from library) next to read: #1 Taken (at county library)
Skip Langdon series by Julie Smith

F. START YOUR ENGINES: New series that I'm currently reading first book:
Ben Carey series by David R. Horwitz. First up: Murder Bay, #1 (Kindle book) CURRENTLY READING

G. START-AND-PARKS: Series I started at the beginning and don't necessarily feel like going the distance with, though I may try one now and then:
Aurora Teagarden mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Next: A Bone to Pick, #2 of 8 (owned)
Charles Lenox series by Charles Finch. Next: The September Society, #2 of 6 (CLP/FLP Download)
Claire DeWitt by Sara Gran. Next Up: Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway, #2 of 2
Death on Demand series by Carolyn Hart. Next up: Design for Murder, #2 of 23 (owned)
Emily Locke series by Rachel Brady. Next: Dead Lift, #2 of 2 (CLP download)
Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo. Next: The Redeemer (FLP download)
Home Repair is Homicide series by Sarah Graves. Next up, #2 of 16
Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd. Next: Wings of Fire, #2 of 16 (library)
Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. Next: Pardonable Lies, #3 of 10 (borrowed)
Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews. Next: No Nest for the Wicket, #7 of 16 (county library)
Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Mysteries by Merabeth James. I'm definitely skipping #2, the vampire one. Next up: A Haunting at Storm House (owned, e-book)
Wine Country Mysteries by Ellen Crosby: Chardonnay Charade, #2 of 6 (download FLP)

Still to be organized:
G. Non-fiction series/collections/trilogies/sets, etc, to be read in order:
The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote (Have read 2 of 3)

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Series I'm thinking of starting

A. Series to start; own (or was loaned) at least one book in series
Agent Smoky Barrett series by Cody McFadyen. First up: Shadow Man, #1 of 5 (owned)
Body Farm series by Jefferson Bass. First up: Carved in Bone, #1 of 7+ (FLP download -- own #2 e-book)
Booktown mysteries by Lorna Barrett. First up: Murder is Binding, #1 of 6 (owned)
Bruno series by Martin Walker. First up: Bruno, Chief of Police, #1 of 5 (borrowed)
Coffeehouse mysteries by Cleo Coyle. First up: On What Grounds, #1 of 11 (owned)
Det. Ellie Hatcher series by Alafair Burke. First up: Dead Connection, #1 of 4 (owned)
Emmanuel Cooper series by Malla Nunn. First up: A Beautiful Place to Die, #1 of 2 (owned)
Frank Renzi series by Susan Fleet. First up: Absolution, #1 of 3 (Kindle book)
Gin Palace Trilogy by Daniel Judson. (Own #2 in series as Kindle Book -- I understand that it's a "prequel" so may work to read first.
Hackberry Holland by James Lee Burke. First up: Lay Down my Sword and Shield, #1 of 3 (owned)
Hannah Swenson series by Joanne Fluke. First up: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, #1 of 15 (owned)
Huntress Moon/FBI thrillers by Alexandra Sokoloff. First up: Huntress Moon, #1 of 2 (Kindle book)
Inspector Alan Grant series by Josephine Tey. First up: The Man in the Queue, #1 of 6 (owned)
Inspector Matt Minogue Mysteries by John Brady. First up: A Stone of the Heart, #1 of 10 (owned)
Jackson Brodie series by Kate Atkinson. First up: Case Histories, #1 of 4 (owned)
James Pruett series by R.S. Guthrie. First up: Blood Land, #1 (Kindle book)
John Cardinal series by Giles Blunt. First up: Forty Words for Sorrow, #1 of 6 (owned)
Julie O'Hara series by Lee Hanson. First up: Castle Cay, #1 of 3 (Kindle book)
Lacey Flint series by S. J. Bolton. First up: Now you See Me, #1 of 2 (owned)
Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn. First up: Silent in the Grave, #1 of 7 (borrowed)
Lake Champlain mysteries by William Kritlow. First up: Crimson Snow, #1 of 3 (owned)
Laszlo Kreizler series by Caleb Carr. First up: The Alienist, #1 of 2 (owned)
Loon Lake fishing mysteries, by Victoria Houston. First up: Dead Angler, #1 of 13 (owned)
Madeline Dare series by Cornelia Read. First Up: Field of Darkness, #1 of 3 (owned)
Mark Tartaglia series by Elena Forbes. First up: Die With Me, #1 of 3 (owned)
Missing Pieces mysteries by Joyce & Jim Laverne. First up: A Timely Vision, #1 of 4 (owned)
Quirke series by Benjamin Black. First up: Christine Falls, #1 of 6 (owned)
Rebecka Martinsson series by Asa Larsson. First up: Sun Storm, #1 of 4 (CLP library download; own 4th book in series)
Rosa Thorn series by Vena Cork. First up: Thorn, #1 of 3 (owned)
Shadows series by Cege Smith. First up: Edge of Shadows, #1 of 3 (Kindle book)
Sister Agnes series by Alison Joseph. First up: Sacred Hearts, #1 of 9 (own)
Tony Boudreaux Mysteries by Kent Conwell. First up: Galveston (no touchstone), #1 of ? (own 6th in series)
Underhill/Maiden series by Will Kingdom. The Cold Calling (owned)

B. Series I'm eager to start; none owned, but at least first book available at library:
Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd. First up: A Duty to the Dead, #1 of 4 (library)
Cemetery of Forgotton Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The Shadow of the Wind, #1 of 3 (FLP downloads)
Deborah Knott series by Margaret Maron. First up: Bootlegger's Daughter, #1 of 18 (library)
DS Alex Morrow by Denise Mina. First up: Still Midnight
Guido Guerrieri series by Gianrico Carfiglio. Involuntary Witness, #1 of 4 (CLP download)
Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. First up: The Black Echo, #1 of 18 (library, library downhload)
Homer Kelley series by Jane Langton. First up: The Transcendental Murder, #1 of 18 (FLP download)
Inspector Silva series by Leighton Gage. First up: Blood of the Wicked, #1 of 4 (CLP download)
Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. First up: Killing Floor
Jack Sawyer series by Stephen King. First up: The Talisman (library, downloads)
Kathryn Dance series by Jeffery Deaver. First up: The Sleeping Doll
Lynley/Havers series by Elizabeth George. First up: A Great Deliverance (library paperback)
Matthew Shardlake series by C.J. Samson. First up: Dissolution, #1 of 5 (FLP download)
Millenium Trilogy by Steig Larsson. First up: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, #1 of 3
Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. First up: Odd Thomas, #1 of 6 + novellas
Rizolli/Isles by Tess Gerritsen. First up: The Surgeon
Shakespeare Secret series by Jennifer Lee Carrell. First up: Interred With Their Bones
Steve Vail series by Noah Boyd. First up: The Bricklayer, #1 of 2
Strange & Quinn series by George Pelicanos. First up: Right as Rain
Tea Shop mysteries by Laura Childs. First up: Death by Darjeeling
The Sparrow series by Mary Doria Russell. First up: The Sparrow
Thora Gudmundsdottier series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. First up: Last Rituals
Tradd Street series by Karen White. First up: The House on Tradd Street, #1 of 3
Trilogy of Fog by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The Prince of Mist, #1 of 3 (CLP download)
Women's Murder Club by James Patterson. First up: First to Die

G. Series to start where first book is at county library
Anna Travis series by Lynda LaPlante. First up: Above Suspicion, #1 of 7
Barker & Llewellyn series by Will Thomas. First up: Some Danger Involved, #1 of 5 (county library)
Cackleberry Club by Laura Childs. First up: Eggs in purgatory
Duncan Kincade series by Deborah Crombie. First up: A Share in Death
Evelyn James series by Elizabeth Becca. First up: Trace Evidence
Gregor Demarkian mystery by Jane Haddam. First up: Not a Creature was Stirring
Harrison Investigation series by Heather Graham. First up: Haunted (county library)
Inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin. First up: Knots & Crosses, #1 of 17
Jack Daniels series by Joe Konrath. First up: Whiskey Sour
Jason Kolarich series by David Ellis. First up: The Hidden Man
Jemima Shore series by Antonia Fraser. First up: Quiet as a Nun
Joona Linna sereis by Lars Kepler. First up: The Hypnotist, #1 (only one in English so far)
LA Quartet by James Elroy. First up: The Black Dahlia
Leaphorn series by Tony Hillerman. First up: The Blessing Way
Lincoln Ryme series by Jeffery Deaver. First up: The Bone Collector
Nobody Nowhere series by Donna Williams. First up: Nobody Nowhere
Nora Gavin series by Erin Hart. First up: Haunted Ground
Ray Dudgeon series by Sean Chercover. First up: Big City, Bad Blood
Sister Agatha mysteries by Aimee Thurlo. First up: Bad Faith
Virgil Tibbs series by John Ball. First up: In the Heat of the Night, #1 of 7

C. Recommended series, not readily available:
Antique Print Mysteries by Lea Wait. Shadows at the Fair
Books by the Bay Mysteries by Ellery Adams. First up: A Killer Plot
Chief Inspecter Adamsburg by Fred Vargas. The Chalk Circle Man
Donut Shop mysteries by Jessica Beck. Glazed Murder
Emily Tempest series by Adrian Hyland. Moonlight downs
Inspector Challis by Hal Disher. The Dragon Man
Jack Frost by R.D. Wingfield. Frost at Christmas
Jack Taylor series by Ken Bruen. The Guards
Joe Faraday series by Graham Hurley. Turnstone
Joe Plantagenet by Kate Ellis. Seeking the Dead
Kyle Murchison Booth by Sarah Monette The Bone Key
Logan McRae by Stuart MacBride. Cold Granite
Matthew Bartholomew series by Susanna Gregory. A Plague on Both Your Houses
Max Tudor by G.M. Malliet. Wicked Autumn
Mike Bowditch by Paul Doiron. The Poacher's Son
Nathan Active series by Stan Jones. White sky, Black ice
Novel Ideas series by Lucy Arlington. Buried in a Book
Sam Turner mysteries by John F. Baker. Poet in the Gutter
Sigrid Harald by Margaret Maron. One Coffee With
Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham. Sleepyhead

THE STATS: for as long as I can keep them adding up properly

total books READ 2013: 91

ROOT books -- off my (real or virtual) TBR shelf: 47
("SuperROOTS" (pre-2013 hard copy or ER): 25

Paper books: 40
E-books: 26
Audio books: 24

Fiction: 69
Non-Fiction: 22

male author(s): 58
female author: 33
male/female team author: 0

US authors: 67
authors from other countries: 21
NO IDEA: 3

living author (as far as I know): 88
deceased author: 2
unsure:1

THE POSTING FORMAT:

Title:
Author:
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series:
Date finished:
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?:
Category for 13 in 13 challenge:
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating:
Notes:

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.

Hi Terri: Nice new thread!!

Love the racing theme!

Migrating over to your shiny new thread, Terri!

12 I love the glittery cat, Kath!

13 Thanks, Linda!

14 Glad you approve, Doc! Drive by any time, Jim!

15 Welcome, Lori

Today, due to the illness of a co-worker and the Director's vacation, I wound up holding the fort at the library pretty much by myself most of the day (except for the Genealogist who mainly works in a totally different area of the library). Naturally, we had a busy day. But it was OK. It was a hot day, and I enjoyed being in the air conditioned work space.

This evening, I really enjoyed watching the Home Run Derby on TV, which was very entertaining.

I'm going to cheer you on to get started on The Girl Who series starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I just loved that series. Solid 8 out of 10 stars right down the line.

Morphy, that one's on my radar. I don't know why I haven't tried it yet.

After an opening-to-closing day at work yesterday, I'm off work today. I thought maybe they'd call me in if my co-worker scheduled for the afternoon shift was still sick, but I guess she's OK. She said she would be. She did sound better last time I talked with her.

As if my list of TBR books wasn't long enough, I found a few on my shelves that weren't cataloged. A few of them I cataloged today, some I put on a pile to dispose of, unread.

I also picked up a freebie Kindle book on Amazon today, Jerusalem Gap, about a man who rescues an abandoned dog. It has an Appalachian setting, so that appealed to me, too.

Current reads
E-book fiction: Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves (Home Repair is Homicide series)
Audio fiction: The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson (Walt Longmire series)
Non-fiction: Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes by Dwight Boyer
Fiction: Harbor by John Ajvide Lindquist (I couldn't get the right touchstone when I put this on my "currently reading" list at the top of the thread, but for some reason it worked with this post.)

Dead Cat Bounce is fun, but almost too cute so far. I like the Maine setting.
The Longmire audios have become favorites -- the narrator is so perfect, listening to him is like listening to an old friend tell a story.
The Great Lakes book is mostly straightforward shipwreck tales, though it gives a nod to the spooky legends that surround some of them.

Harbor is in the horror genre. It's long, and it's not really grabbing me so far. It has its creepy moments, but a lot of it is . . . I had a word in mind but it has slipped my mind . . . A lot of the blurbs compare this writer, Lindqvist, to Stephen King, but I don't see it. Maybe the books lose something in the translation from Swedish. He doesn't draw me into the story like King does. Plodding. King books don't plod like this, even when he's being extra verbose. And the style is off-putting . . . lots of section headings.

I thought Harbor wasn't his best. Or maybe I just got spoiled by Let the Right One In. :)

ETA: oops, just checked and that's not right! I rated Harbor pretty high, but didn't care for Handling the Undead so much. I must be getting old... :)

Maybe I'll like it better when I get further into it, Jim. Right now, I'm finding it kind of "meh" although it does have its moments. That creepy plastic ice cream man . . . that's kind of King-esque . . . ;)

75 Challenge Book #66
Title: Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes
Author: Dwight Boyer
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1968
Series: n/a
Date finished: 7/17/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, Yes, purchased used in Detroit last year, I think?
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Emergency
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): All about shipwrecks
Alternate category
My Rating: 4 stars
Notes:

First, let me say that this book is really about SHIPS, not ghosts. There are a few mentions of eerie legends, and a few accounts with odd premonitions, but make no mistake about it: this is a book about SHIPWRECKS.

Mention Great Lakes shipwrecks, and people immediately seem to think of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Well, this book (at least the edition I have) has no mention of that doomed vessel, as it was published in 1968, 7 years before the Fitzgerald went to her watery grave. But there have been plenty of other shipwrecks for the author to write about.

I found this book fascinating and well-written. The author seems to be a born storyteller. I thought the accounts had just the right amount of facts, description, background, etc. It offered a great overview of different kinds of ends that have overtaken ships on the Great Lakes, and a good sense of the kinds of people who worked and perished on them.

Oh! That looks very good! drat it anyway, Terri!

So... I need some advice on how to handle a patron situation. I like this woman, but? I have explained it all in my thread. WWTD? ( what would Terri do?)

Happy new thread, Terri! I love those Craig Johnson books, but I have not tried the audio - I will have to check it out.

Kath, I saw that on your thread (you mean Ms. Fragrance Headache, right?) I am at a loss for suggestions on that one.

Hi, Mamie! I access the audios through OneClick, but they are the Recorded Books audios narrated by George Guidall. He just sounds like he should be Longmire. I adore listening to them! The only thing I don't like is that Johnson has Vic and some of the characters swear so vociferously -- that's a bit jarring to my ears, hearing the f-bomb so much, can't gloss over it like in print. But in the one I'm listening to now, one character was swearing up a storm, and Longmire made a clever reference to his limited vocabulary, and I just about cracked up.

ETA to fix typo -- maked? oops!

Thanks for that, Terri. So true about the swearing being easier to take in print than in audio!

I generally don't mind rough language -- I grew up with parents who swore quite a bit. And I accept that to be realistic, writers have to -- especially in certain settings and with certain kinds of characters -- have some swearing in the dialogue. But it is just a little more jarring on audio books.

On the non-fiction reading front, I've started They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War. So far it looks very interesting.

I spent a lot of time with food prep and housecleaning today -- while listening to my audio book.

75 Challenge Book #67
Title: The Dark Horse
Author: Craig Johnson
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: Walt Longmire #5
Date finished: 7/18/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: no, no, library download via OneClick
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: still deciding
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.6 stars
Notes:

Walt is off his own turf, and undercover. The narrative shifts between his investigation and events at his jail, days before, which led him to arrive in the town of Absalom under an assumed name. A young woman arrived in his jail from a neighboring county, presumably because the jail there was overcrowded. (A jail with empty cells may house prisoners from other counties for a fee.) She has supposedly confessed to a murder, but Walt has a gut feeling that she's not a killer.

This is not my favorite Longmire book, but it was OK -- solid enough, but not truly great like The Cold Dish. I found the whole premise and format a tiny bit convoluted. But it still had some great moments.

ETA to add: After the end of this audiobook, there was a 45-minute interview of the author, Craig Johnson, by George Guidall, the narrator. I really enjoyed that!

Terri- Much to catch up on over here! Congrats on the new thread. I also listened to The Man Who Smiled and thought it was just okay. My least favorite of the Wallanders. I have to bookhorn in book 5.
I also have "Harbor" waiting in the stacks. I have not read him but I was crazy about the film version of Let the Right One In.
I am stuck on book 3 of the Longmire series but I am almost done with the first season of the cable show. It is a decent enough show, (Robert Taylor is excellent) but it really pales compared to the books.

LOOK at those series!!! My whole person is boggling.
Congratulations on the newish thread, and I'll see what you have to say about *Harbor* when you've finished.

Thanks for looking Terri... I wondered if you had any thoughts on how to handle it. It is a not easy situation. :(

Hi Terri, I had no idea that the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald was so recent. But I just mentioned it to my hubby and he said it was an ore ship that went down in a gale in the 70s. Boy your thread is so informative:)

Hi, Peggy! I am serious about my series . . . ;)

Kath, I have a co-worker with fragrance sensitivities triggering severe asthma. It can be a real issue when you work with the public. Your patron sounds especially insensitive, however, knowing about it and still getting in your face and joking about it.

Glad to be a source of information and enlightenment, Bonnie! ;-) We went to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum last summer, and saw the actual ship's bell recovered from the Edmund Fitzgerald. (It was replaced on the wreck with a replica inscribed with the names of the crew that perished -- a fitting monument.)

Catching up here. I hope to be able to explore a bit more of the Great Lakes region sometime. I might have to pick up the book on the shipwrecks before I do so. I need to give the Walt Longmire series a try. I actually watched an episode on TV (for the first time) the other night. I have no idea if those follow the books or not.

17: An air conditioned library seems the perfect way to get through a heat wave.

Did you miss me up there? LOL!

Hi Terri! I just thumbed your review of Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes. That sounds like something I'd like. Unfortunately, my library doesn't have it so I've had to put a used copy of it in my Amazon shopping cart. ;-) Have you ever read Safe from the Sea by Peter Geye? It's a novel about the captain of an ore boat on the Great Lakes that shipwrecked and the repercussions on his family. It's pretty good.

Hi, Lori! I've really liked what I've seen of the Great Lakes region.

Hello, Katherine! Some of those hot days, I was very glad to work extra!

Sorry, Mark! I didn't quite miss the post -- somehow missed getting my reply posted. Not sure if I got interrupted in the middle of posting and didn't submit, or if I got interrupted & never hit "submit" before I closed out . . . or I'm creating imaginary LT posts in my dreams . . . I haven't tried the Longmire show, fearing that it wouldn't measure up. Harbor is getting better, though I'm not sure it will be a favorite of mine. . . and the touchstone is still not cooperating -- sometimes it works, sometimes not. Go figure.

Hi, Pat! I'm pretty sure Safe From the Sea is on my Ever Expanding List . . . I must get to it.

Must go tend to the laundry now . . .

I'm seconding Pat's recommendation of Safe From the Sea! *nudge, nudge*

Loved Safe From the Sea. One of my few five-star reads from last year. I'll jump on that bandwagon of recommending it.

Hi, Joanne and Cindy!

Uh, oh. That's not exactly a book bullet, as I already had it on the Wishlist. But gotta get that one . . .soon. I think I'll hold off just a bit on getting it -- maybe I'll find a used copy when we're out by the Great Lakes.

I got bit by a few Kindle freebies via Book Bub today. Picked up a couple from the library sale, too. Also, adding a few to my "read and recycled" and "read but unowned" lists as I recall some oldies I read years ago. There are so many books that I've read over the years and just forgotten . . . maybe if they're forgettable, it's not so bad that they're not in my lists -- unless I make the mistake of getting them again.

This is a drive-by posting. If this had been a real posting... um... I would have had something to say and wouldn't have had to make up something ridiculous and um... anyway. Hello!

Hi, Morphy!

I can't get OneClick to work today. I tried to sign in via my iPhone -- first it said there was a server error & try again; then it rejected my password; then it signed me in, but didn't show the book I had checked out. I tried signing in via my computer, and it signed me in, and the book showed on my account, but then indicated a download error. I'm in the middle of a good mystery, and can't get into my book to finish it -- and only a few days left on the library loan.

I finished this one:

75 Challenge Book #68
Title: Harbor
Author: John Ajvide Lindquvist
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2008; English translation c2010
Series: n/a
Date finished: 7/23/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, yes, birthday gift last year
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Twilight Zone (definitely!)
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: not going to give a star rating
Notes:

A young girl vanishes on a family outing to an island lighthouse. Other people have vanished, too. There is a secret on the islands of Domaro and Gavasten -- a deadly secret, carefully guarded by the locals, that no one truly understands

Let me start by saying I think this book was probably very well done. I think the premise was rather original, and it was well-written, and well organized. It cut from scene to scene in ways that heightened tension. There were many moments of true creepiness. And there was some marvelous atmospheric descriptive writing. This section on page 448 of my edition struck me:

. . . the fallen fir trees were still here, dark, gloomy tree trunks lying across the rocks, with the odd branch sticking up out of the water here and there like the arms of skeletons pleading for help, ignored and rejected by one and all.

The moon had begun to tire and shrink, balancing helplessly on the branches of the few firs still standing. Veils of cloud drifted past, and as Anders drew closer Kattholmen was bathed in a light with no luminosity, like aged aluminium. He rounded the northern point where a concrete buoy marked a shipping lane that was no longer used, and continued along the rocky shore on the eastern side of the island.

Of course, this is all in translation from the original Swedish, but I suspect that Lindqvist gave the translator a good foundation from which to work. It seemed like it was probably a good translation.

He also dared to deal with issues of parental feelings of guilt when a child dies/disappears, and the child was difficult to live with -- the parent who has, at times, wished he wasn't a parent . . . and then suddenly the child is gone. A lot of writers might not go there.

So the book had a lot going for it. It was simply not my cup of tea. It was, in the end, a bit too fantastical to fit within my worldview, even with the requisite best effort to suspend disbelief that is standard in my reading of horror novels. I had trouble processing what he was describing in the climactic scenes, despite his best efforts to make me see it. I was also a bit put off by the many, often "clever," section headings.

I'm not going to give this a star rating, as I think the writing quality was far higher than my own personal enjoyment of the story.

I don't know why the touchstone for this will come up as an option when I attempt to put it in some posts, but sometimes is nowhere in sight regardless of which version of the spelling I try. It "disappears" like the people of Domaro! ;)

OK, I'm back from my follow-up sleep study. Glad that's done!

I got turned loose shortly before dawn, and it was foggy, so I decided to have breakfast at a nearby restaurant and kill some time until driving conditions were better for the half-hour drive home. Then I made a stop at Wal-Mart to kill some more time (not many options of places to go to at that hour) and found some marvelous sugar-free/calorie free flavored syrups for flavoring beverages. So I'm having an amaretto-flavored cup of decaf coffee now. (I had more than enough caffeine with breakfast!) I love those flavored creamers, but most of them have lots of calories and they never make the flavored ones in a fat-free version. I can use this stuff in my coffee along with my fat-free creamer, and it's all good. (Of course it would probably be even better with a shot of real amaretto -- but not this early in the day. . .)

On the book front: They Fought Like Demons looks promising, but after the first chapter I've decided to put it aside in favor of some folklore, Haunted Lakes: Great Lakes Ghost Stories, Superstitions and Sea Serpents by Frederick Stonehouse. He's the author who wrote the book I read last year about the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking.

75 Challenge Book #69
Title: Trickster's Point (AUDIO)
Author: William Kent Krueger
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2012
Series: Cork O'Connor, #12
Date finished: 7/26/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?:No, No, library download
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: still deciding
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.8 stars
Notes:

This wasn't my favorite of the Cork O'Connor series, but it was a pretty good story.

Cork and his former best friend Jubal Little are bow hunting when Jubal is shot -- with an arrow that looks like one of Cork's. Circumstances make it look like Cork shot him -- and that it may have been deliberate. This story tells us more of the story of Cork's youth, as we see his early friendships with Jubal and with Willie and Winonah Crane, and how their lives changed over the years.

The surprising thing about this book is that, for once, I figured out "whodunit." Of course, there were other twists I hadn't anticipated.

The audio version was good, as always.

I am considering reading the Aunt Dimity series, because it looks sweet and fun and light and summery... and because a patron requested like.. 6 of them from across the system the other day.
Have you read them?

Do you work today? I have worked ALL freaking week... and today.

Terri, there was a good exhibit at the Maritime Museum in Duluth about shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. I can see that is something you are interested in. I have to read the chunkster Tales of the Great Lakes that I inherited from my uncle who was the G.L. foreign ship captain that inspired my love for the long boats. I just posted a book review on a book about Lake Superior that I can recommend before you visit if you are still planning your fall trip up that way. I also recommend the Peter Geye books. I read them after Joanne raved about them and thought they were wonderful. In fact, they inspired our detour to Duluth on our vacation!

Kath, I don't think I've read any Aunt Dimity . . . maybe one long ago.
No work for me at library today. I was tied up with church activities mostly.

Donna, thanks for the info! We're thinking of detouring to Duluth, too.

De-lurking here to comment on Aunt Dimity. These are rather sweet books. If you can suspend disbelief in ghosts and magic bunnies, they're actually pretty decent little cozy mysteries. The English countryside setting is delightful, and the heroine a rather spunky modern woman married to a (naturally) modern man.

I'm not sure I could take 6 of these at once, but sprinkled in amongst the heavier reading of life, these are nice relaxing fun reads IMHO.

So, my question is this. Why would someone who does NO reading, and does not use the library want to be a board member? This is a curiosity ....

Tina.. thank you for the Dimity comments. I think I will request one or two for next week and see what I think. I like light, I like magic, I like cozy, so they might work for me. In other news, I'm sorry that you don't believe in ghosts and magic bunnies. I bet they believe in you...

50 Hi, Tina! I believe in ghosts, so that's no problem. Magic bunnies? Hmmm. . .

51 So, my question is this. Why would someone who does NO reading, and does not use the library want to be a board member? This is a curiosity ....

Not sure. Come to think of it, I'm not much of a camper, and I'm on the camp board. My kid likes camp and it was really good for him; I think it's a helpful thing to keep it going for the good that it does for kids, so I try to do my part. Same rationale might work for a library.

Or he/she might just be padding his/her resume. (That's the cynic in me speaking.)

75 Challenge Book #70
Title: Junkyard Dogs (AUDIO)
Author: Craig Johnson
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2010
Series: Walt Longmire
Date finished: 7/29/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, No, Library Download
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Law and Order
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.9 stars
Notes:

The mystery here was a bit slow getting started, but that was OK; it's fun just hanging out with Walt and enjoying the ebb-and-flow of rural Wyoming law enforcement. Of course, some of those little details from when nothing much was happening played into the eventual mystery.

During a wicked (sub zero) cold spell, Walt is dealing with an old man accidentally dragged behind a truck, deputy who wants to quit, a missing thumb found in a cooler, a cash crop of weed, and (finally) a couple of violent deaths. How it all plays out is, as usual, quite entertaining.

George Guidall's narration on the audio is, as always, flawless. (I secretly suspect that he IS Walt.) He's so good, I'm considering an Audible subscription so that I can keep listening to him relate the rest of Walt's adventures, as I've listened to all the library's collection of audios in this series.

I read every kind of cozy there is and enjoy most of them. I've read a few Aunt Dimity books but have definitively put this series aside. Maybe someday I'll pick it up again, but it seems doubtful to me.

Linda... noted, and thank you :) I will try it soon, and see how it works for me :)

One reviewer said something to the effect of "gentle even for the cozy genre." I'm also normally not a fan of the supernatural in mysteries.

I read the first one and the Christmas one (around #7?). I don't hate them but there are too many series out that the I DO love so I don't spend my time reading series where I'm just so-so.

I do like a little paranormal in my mysteries.. I enjoy the Terri Reid Mary O'Reilly series.. LOVE Sookie Stackhouse and so I may enjoy them a bit more than you? or not. Nothing ventured!

I LOVE the Terri Reid series but, for me, that's an exception. Part of it is that the Reid books are somewhat local for me.

Give it a try please. I'll be curious to see whether you like the Aunt Dimity's.

Ack. Very disappointed to read that there won't be a new Monica Ferris mystery this year. I hate when an author who's released a book annually suddenly misses a year. Was she late in turning it in? Do they want to change the timetable of release?

It looks like the Ferris is coming out in February. Last year it came out in December. So it looks like just a shift of a couple of months.

75 Challenge Book #71
Title: Dead Cat Bounce (e-book)
Author: Sarah Graves
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1998
Series: Home Repair is Homicide #1
Date finished: 7/30/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: no, no, Overdrive library download
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Surside Six
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): Coastal island setting
Alternate category
My Rating: 3 stars
Notes:

First, let me say that no felines were abused in the making of this book. "Dead cat bounce" is a stock market term, referring to an upward blip in the value of a stock just before it totally wipes out, as I understand the explanation.

This is the first in a series. I love the coastal Maine setting, and the characters grew on me. I picked up some home improvement tips. But the mystery seemed totally implausible.

One of the blurbs for the book insisted that this was not a cozy, but it most definitely is. There is some murder and mayhem, but it's a cozy.

Jacobia finds a body in her storeroom killed by an ice pick blow to the head -- the body of probably the richest (and maybe meanest) man in town. Then the ice pick is gone. Then, it's back. Her best friend confesses to the murder, but Jacobia figures she's protecting someone and starts digging to find out the truth. Someone obviously doesn't appreciate her efforts, and bad things start to happen. There are references to a mysterious portrait, and a possible ghost in the house. There are murmurs of underworld connections. Meanwhile, Jacobia and her ex-husband seriously disagree about what's best for their son Sam. The sniping between them is probably the most realistic thing in the book.

I may try another in this series. (I have a much later one on my shelf from the library sale.) But it's not one I'd follow faithfully, unless the next one I try has a much more believable plot.

Hmm, I seem to have lost part of my last post . . . how did that happen?

Hi, Linda, Kath, and Morphy!

So many series, and so many different responses to them. I like a little paranormal in my books -- premonitions, ghosties, and things that go bump in the night. But I don't do vampires, so I think Sookie is out for me, as I understand the series. I tried another of the author's series, (the one with the librarian) and it was OK but nothing special.

Thanks for the Feb. info regarding the Ferris book.

I think they like to push them to a more advantageous time of the year. Evanovich used to come out at a different time (summer?) but now is right before the holidays.

I think timing can be part of it, Linda, but sometimes the author has a hard time writing to a time-table, too. At least for good writers, there's a creative process involved.

I'd rather wait a bit longer and get a good book, than have the author rush out something sub-par. I think that's why some series start to go downhill -- the publishers want a book a year, and the author doesn't have a good idea every year. I can't imagine how they do it year after year.

Just caught up with your new thread. About the shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, I think the only reason that the Edmund Fitzgerald is such a well know wreck is because of the Lightfoot song.
I read the first book the the Aunt Dimity series and liked it so much that I bought the second book. That was a few years ago and it is still unread. I think from that, my take was the series is readable but not captivating.

Hi Terri, I don't know even one little bit about Aunt Dimity books but they sound like something light and fluffy and there are times I feel like that kind of read so I will keep them in mind. As far as authors who pump out a book a year I am now waiting for the latest Penny book which be out at the end of the month. Every year, in August, she puts out a book and they are invariably quite good. Julia Spencer-Fleming, OTOH has a book coming out in her series in November and it's been more than two years. Since I'm caught up in both series I'd rather have one every year but I do worry about quality.

It amazes me that Penny's books are so good, pretty much every time. She just gets better. Even the 2 that I liked the least would have to be called good, even though I missed Three Pines. I wonder if it will be featured in the next book too? I suspect the answer to that is yes.... I think I'm not the only one who reads for that location even more than for Gamache. She is half way through the next book now...

I'm looking forward to the next Louise Penny, which is out on August 27. How the Light Gets In. I think she's back in Three Pines.

For many of the series I like, the usual setting is a big part of why I like it. I don't mind an occasional book set elsewhere but not too many. For example, the Laura Childs teashop series would not be the same if Theodosia ventured off elsewhere.

No - I wish I had a new one of the tea shop mysteries (or one of those singles) for my visit to Charleston. I leave in just 2 days! I always wish that I could go to the tea shop to have Drayton pour my tea while I'm savoring one of those scrumptious concoctions Hailey makes, pat Earl Grey's head, and go shopping at the Cotton Duck.

64 readable but not captivating.
I've tried a lot of series that fall under that description!

65 Bonnie, I'm caught up on both those series, too, and always look forward to new one -- whenever they appear!

66 Kath, I do love the Three Pines setting. My least favorite was the one set at the resort, where Peter and his family were a big part of it . . . don't like Peter. The one at the monastery was OK, I kind of liked that setting though there was something about that order and how nobody knew where they were that seemed off-kilter.

67 Linda I agree -- setting can be a be a big part of the appeal. I think of my favorite series, and most of them I love the setting. Now the Cork O'Connor series, he moves about a bit but there's always a sense of him being rooted in Aurora, and the places he goes to are always interesting and seem to "fit" the series.

68 I need to try that tea shop series, Lori! Enjoy Charleston!

Since getting hooked on Sookie and co. I have said that I would like to live in Three Pines and vacation in Bon Temps :) I was not a fan of the monastery book at all. It was my least favorite of all.

Hi, Kath!

Finished another, an ER book

75 Challenge Book #72
Title: It Happens in the Dark
Author: Carol O'Connell
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2013
Series: Mallory
Date finished: 8/2/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, Yes (ER), LT ER program
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Murder She Wrote
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): starts out with a dead playwright, and also has a seemingly literal ghostwriter
Alternate category
My Rating: still deciding
Notes:

This is an ER book, so I want to think carefully before writing a real review. However, this was rather a disappointment. I love this series, but this one just seemed too convoluted for my taste. There were great moments with the familiar characters, but there was too much that didn't particularly make sense to me, even after reading the whole thing.

Hi Terri, On Friday's Morning Edition on NPR, there was a pretty good interview with Chris Grabenstein, talking about his books and the Jersey Shore. I know you recommended the series. It's on NPR's website if you didn't happen to catch it!

I need to continue the Three Pines series. I've only read the first one and that was some time ago.

Like Morphy, I have only read the first of the Three Pines series. I thought it was ok, but everyone who reads them has assured me that they just keep getting better and better so I must give them another try. I went with my sister for her bone marrow test and the whole time the nurse was talking about the Louise Penny books and how eagerly she is waiting for the next one!

Three Pines books do indeed get better and better ( mostly) and so I would recommend continueing on to anyone who asked :)

So, Terri... did you pack up your run away from home fund and leave town?

72 Thanks for the info, Joanne!

73 Hi, Morphy! Yes, by all means, continue!

74 Amazing where you encounter fellow readers, Judy. Best wishes to your sister, I need to catch up on your thread/news of how she's doing.

75 You got it, Kath! We ran away to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan this past week . . . spotty-to-no internet, including via phone. Glad to be back on a good internet connection this evening. I have books to post, but not really time to catch up, too.

75 Challenge Book #73
Title: A Cold Day in Paradise
Author: Steve Hamilton
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: Alex McNight, #1
Date finished: 8/8/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, ILL
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Law and Order
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Notes:

First in the Alex McNight series, set on the upper peninsula of Michigan. McNight took disability retirement from the Detroit police after a shooting left his partner dead and him with a bullet lodged near his heart. He moved to the UP, where his father, where his father had built some cabins for rental. Now he's a newly-licensed private eye, talked into doing some work for a local lawyer. He winds up in the middle of a mess when two loan sharks are murdered, and he's body-guarding a compulsive gambler.

This book included one of my least favorite (but quite common in the genre) plot devices, but was good enough to keep me reading.

75 Challenge book #74
Title: Blood Atonement (e-book)
Author: Dan Waddell
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: Blood Detective / Nigel Bruce #2
Date finished: 8/9/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, No, library download
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Roots
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): genealogy angle
Alternate category
My Rating: 2.7
Notes:

I just didn't like this one. It made sense for a series about a genealogist to include a story that dealt with all that the Mormon Church has contributed to genealogical research, but the sensational angle this story took bugged me.

75 Challenge Book #75
Title: Winter of the Wolf Moon
Author: Steve Hamilton
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2000
Series: Alex McNight #2
Date finished: 8/10/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: no, no, ILL
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Law and Order
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.7 stars
Notes:

I liked this better than the first book in the series. It was especially fun because we were driving in the very area of the UP where the book was set while I finished reading it. McNight gets talked into helping a woman who is fleeing an abusive relationship. Then she disappears, and all sorts of weird stuff starts happening. This was a quick read, a good page-turner, with lots of COLD atmosphere.

Woo hoo congrats on your 75!

Congrats on 75!

Congratulations on hitting 75!

High five on seventy five! :)

Congrats!

Congrats on reaching #75, Terri!! With a pretty good mystery, no less. I need to turn back to the Steve Hamilton books. I read the first two and liked them.

Yes. Congrats on hitting 75!

75 !! - Way to go!

Congratuations on reaching your 75th book, Terri. I have read the first two of Steve Hamilton's series, I wonder if they all take place in winter? Great reading for a hot summer day.

Congratulations on reaching your 75th book Terri! And welcome back from your vacation:)

Congratulations on hitting 75 books, Terri! Great job!

Thanks, Carrie, Lori, Carrie, Kath, Jim, Linda, Lori, Familyhistorian, Judy, Bonnie, and Terri!

Judy, I went for another cold mystery after the Hamilton. Alaska!

75 Challenge Book #76
Title: A Cold Day for Murder
Author: Donna Stabenow
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1992
Series: Kate Shugak #1
Date finished: 8/12/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, Yes, used from paperback exchange, I think (also a free iBook copy I used, too)
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Wild Kingdom
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): remote location in national parkland
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.9 stars
Notes:

Years ago, I read a few books from the Kate Shugak series totally out of order. I thought it might be worth going back to the beginning of the series.

This was a quick read, very well written. I enjoyed the characters, setting, occasional humor, and plot. The descriptions were great.

Kate is called on to search for a missing park ranger (a US senator's son) and a missing investigator who tried to find him. Possible suspects are everywhere.

I love the character of Kate. She's a really complex woman. Other characters were equally memorable and multi-faceted.

I definitely need to read more of this series!

Terri> You just reminded me how much I liked that book. I need to "chill off" with the next one, A Fatal Thaw, soon.

I'm late to the party, but congrats on reaching 75+ books read!

92 I want to get to that next one too, Lori. I see our library has it.

93 Thanks, Mary!

Congrats on 75 books. Whoo hoo!

Thanks, Morphy!

Congrats on reaching 75, Terri! And I have never heard of that series you mention in that last review -I will have to look it up!

You did it! 75 already!
Congrats!

I'll have to get going to make it by year's end. I have read some good books this year though ;-)

It's set in Alaska, Mamie. Very neat setting.

Thanks, Cee! Book quality is more important than quantity, IMO.

We were away a few days visiting in-laws. Back now, have books to post, but internet is going off periodically . . . already lost one review I wrote because it blinked off just as I hit post message. So I'm holding off on reviews.

OK, my internet connection seems a bit more reliable today.

75 Challenge Book #77
Title: A Lesson in Dying
Author: Ann Cleeves
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1990
Series: Inspector Stephen Ramsay #1
Date finished: 8-14-13 (or thereabouts)(
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, No, Purchased used while on vacation
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Masterpiece Mystery
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): British mystery
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.6 stars
Notes:

The headmaster of the local school is murdered, and nobody is sorry he's dead. The police have focused on the widow, but aren't there a lot of other suspects who ought to be examined? School caretaker Jack Robson is determined to find the real killer, because he's sure Inspector Ramsay is wrong about the headmaster's wife being the culprit.

This is a good, solid, no-frills whodunit. Cleeves gives us a village, Heppleburn, filled with ordinary, flawed human beings. There's not a lot of action or heart-pounding suspense, but it's a delightful little mystery. It's short enough and good enough that I practically read it in one sitting. It fits more within the "village mystery" genre than the "police procedural." Though the series is named for Inspector Ramsay, Jack Robson is really the protagonist in this book.

I had never heard of this series, but having read some of the author's later work, I decided to try it when I found it in the used bookstore. I'm glad I did. I liked it so much, I went right to the second in the series!

75 Challenge Book #78
Title: Murder in My Backyard
Author: Ann Cleeves
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1991
Series: Inspector Stephen Ramsay #2
Date finished: 8-17-13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, No, bought used on vacation
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Masterpiece Mystery
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.7
Notes:

Alice Parry is murdered in her own backyard, and Inspector Ramsay is on the case. This time he tries to avoid jumping to conclusions about who's guilty, but everyone else soon decides that the culprit is obvious, and he should just agree with them. Though the back cover synopsis talks about Heppleburn, this one mostly takes place in the nearby village of Brinkbonnie -- but Jack Robson makes an appearance.

This is the second installment in the Stephen Ramsay series, and it's another nice little whodunit. It's a little longer, and perhaps a bit more complex.

75 Challenge Book #79
Title: Sidetracked (AUDIO)
Author: Henning Mankell
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: Inspector Wallander #5
Date finished: 8-17-13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, No, library download
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Dragnet
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): police procedural
Alternate category
My Rating: 4 stars
Notes:

Wallander watches in horror as a young woman sets herself ablaze in a field. The image haunts him as he deals with a series of grisly murders, the work of a serial killer who scalps his victims.

This was a great mystery. Kurt Wallander is back on the job, and his conduct -- at least his professional conduct -- is less erratic and annoying than in some previous installments. Of course, he's still Wallander, so he has to sort of make a mess of something -- this time it's mostly his personal life that threatens to become a train wreck of his own making.

OK, that's got me caught up. I had a hold come available, Gone Missing by Linda Castillo, but it's only available in WMA format, and my player that can handle that has, er (ahem), "Gone Missing" -- presumably forever, since I haven't found it by now.

The time away, both in Michigan (with a jaunt into Minnesota) and in New York State, was good. One afternoon of my time away was devoted almost exclusively to book shopping; there are lots of good used bookstores near Ithaca, NY. Later on, I stumbled on a library sale while I was out and about. I'm slowly getting all the booty entered into my catalog.

I need more bookshelves!!!!!

I had fun lighthouse hunting. We also ate at a brewery/restaurant called "The Library" in Houghton, Michigan. That was way cool!

Split Rock Lighthouse, north of Duluth, MN

Were you just at Split Rock? I've been there several times. Love Duluth and the north shore.

Yes, Linda. We just spent a little time there, but I liked the area and hope to return some time. Unfortunately, it was a very dreary day when we were there. (I doctored my photo to make it a bit brighter.)

Some of my book purchases while traveling (these are the mysteries):

Peter Robinson Inspector Banks series:
Cold is the Grave, Wednesday's Child, Past Reason Hated, Innocent Graves, In a Dry Season, Strange Affair

Donna Leon Commissario Brunetti series:
A Sea of Troubles, Doctored Evidence, Fatal Remedies, Quietly in their Sleep

Julie Hyzy White House Chef series:
Buffalo West Wing, Affairs of Steak

Colin Cotterill Dr. Siri series:
The Merry Misogynist, Love Songs from a Shallow Grave

Ann Cleeves, Inspector Ramsay series:
A Lesson in Dying, Murder in My Backyard (both already read!) and A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy

Ann Cleeves, other series:
Murder in Paradise, Another Man's Poison, The Healers

Steve Hamilton, Alex McNight series:
Blood is the Sky

Belinda Bauer, Holly/Lamb series:
Darkside

Sarah Graves, Home Repair is Homicide series:
Triple Witch

Val McDermid, stand alone novel (I think)
Killing the Shadows

September Series and Sequels group, here I come!

Other books purchased:

Grant and Twain by Mark Perry
Southern Lady, Yankee Spy (The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew) by Elizabeth R. Varon
Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy by Robert Jourdain
This is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Levitin
So Cold A Sky: Upper Michigan Weather Stories by Karl Bohnak

Oooh. I just checked your library and don't see Monkeewrench by P. J. Tracy. I know you like mysteries and this is the best one I've read in awhile. It's also set in Minnesota. It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to mysteries. Have you read this one?

Thanks, Morphy, No, I've not read that one. I've just added it to my list.

I worked at the library yesterday. Today was my scheduled day off, and it was a day for unpacking, doing lots of laundry, putting things away, and a trip to the grocery to re-stock the pantry. I did some cooking and meal planning for the rest of the week. Mundane stuff, but I feel I accomplished a lot.

I got in a wee bit of reading too, plus listening to an audio book while I worked. I'm currently listening to A Darker Domain by Val McDermid. I loved her A Place of Execution and wanted to try another.

I know what you mean about needing more bookshelves but what happens when you run out of room to put the shelves in?

That is exactly the point we're at now!

I've really been in favor of health insurance reform. But we've just gotten paperwork from my husband's employee benefits office, and I just found out our family's new insurance deductible may go up to $9,000 per year. We'll still get our preventive care paid for, but if we got sick we'd pay the first NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS before ANY insurance dollars kick in.

Somehow, that wasn't how I thought it would be. I mean, it still provides coverage for catastrophic illness -- we wouldn't be wiped out if I had cancer or a heart attack -- but for day-to-day ailments, it would be like having no health insurance at all.

Terri, it's amazing what companies are doing in the name of health reform.

If we want to have a choice in plans, we have to submit to an on-site blood draw and "health coaching." (The company doesn't know who has what numbers but it'll get a report on "employees as a whole.") I know for a fact that there's nothing in health reform requiring this.

Yowza! On-site blood draws? Dracula lives.

What's happening with us is that the denomination is offering 4 different levels of coverage from its benefits office. I suspect that many congregations will opt for the cheapest one -- I wouldn't blame our cash-strapped little ministry if they did. After looking further, I'm relieved to see that we can "buy up" to a somewhat better plan with our own dollars (including the dollars I would otherwise have spent on books, I imagine ;-)

Oh, and they're pushing health coaching for us, too. And with all the changes, they're still offering the fitness center discount. I wonder if they'll make the attendance rules stricter? (This year, we have to go at least 8x month to get the discount). They are really focused on healthy lifestyle stuff. But if I can't afford to go to the chiropractor, my fitness routine is going to suffer. . . along with my work, my housework, etc.

ETA later to add Finally got a look at the projected premiums. The level of insurance roughly equal to what we have now will actually have a lower premium next year than this year for his employer. Maybe they'll stay put with that coverage?

We all spent so much time griping about it but it wasn't that bad. Took 10 minutes, on-site, and then we had to fill out an online health assessment, which took another 15-20 minutes.

Except for the actual blood draw, everything else was very private (one co-worker who tends to faint at the sight of blood was angry that the blood draw was not done behind a privacy screen, as the height/weight measurements and coaching were done).

It included such coaching gems as: "since you had cancer, you should follow up with your doctor."

It also told me that I should eat better and exercise more.

The online questions covered a whole gamut of topics, including how often I wear my seatbelt and how fast I drive.

Wow! I keep expecting this insurance business to get better; it pretty much just has to!
Hi, Terri. You're reading more and more mysteries, and I'm reading fewer of them. I don't know what that's about.

Linda, I don't suppose you ever thought of following up with your doctor, huh? We had safety questions in our online assessment, too. They even ask if we have smoke detectors in our house. We have the assessment annually. I've gotten used to it, and (grudgingly) I admit I think it actually has helped me focus on trying to have a bit more healthy lifestyle. Our health coaching involves a series of phone calls from a Mayo Clinic health coach, setting diet and exercise goals and tracking progress online. But I found the coach really annoying, and when they offered other options to meet the wellness goals, I opted for a different program.

Peggy, I've just been in a mystery mood this year -- going back to my reading roots, perhaps. As I kid, I read every Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys book, and a slew of other mysteries. I guess it's mental comfort food for me.

75 Challenge Book #80
Title: Haunted Lakes: Great Lakes Ghost stories, superstitions, and sea serpents
Author: Frederick Stonehouse
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: I saw a Volume 2 when I was in Michigan this summer!
Date finished: 8/21/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, Yes, not sure
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Twilight Zone
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.8 stars
Notes:

This is a book of Great Lakes folklore of the spooky kind. Stonehouse is actually a serious historian of the lakes, and admits to having been reluctant to tackle a book of these stories. (He had considered writing this under a pseudonym.) He presents these tales because they're part of the cultural history/heritage of the Lakes. He doesn't make judgments as to whether these tales are true, but focuses on the fact that some people on the lakes think they're true. He also includes a lot of solid history in the process. He takes a rather tongue-in-cheek attitude on some of the wilder stories, but I have to say that a few of the tales were really creepy -- especially read late at night, which is when I finished the book.

75 Challenge Book #81
Title: A Darker Domain (AUDIO)
Author: Val McDermid
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: n/a
Date finished: 8/22/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, No, library download
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Masterpiece Mystery
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3.6 stars
Notes:

This story is about a cold case Inspector who suddenly is dealing with two cold cases from the same time period, 20+ years ago during a coal miners' strike. It's also about a journalist who feels she's stumbled on the story of a lifetime. There's also a very rich, powerful man who lost his daughter (killed) and grandson (never found) in a botched ransom hand-off, and a woman whose son is in need of a bone marrow transplant. And it's ultimately about the choices people make and how they try to justify even their most sordid actions. The title is appropriate in many ways. This is truly a dark story, with a number of twists and turns, though there's not a lot of actual action. The very ending rather caught me by surprise. I knocked a fraction off the rating because, at the heart of the book lies (to my mind) a coincidence that I just couldn't accept.

I really had too many books going at once. I'm slowly getting the "currently reading" list pared down.

eta to add I think I'm going to temporarily abandon my book of Great Lakes weather stories, So Cold a Sky. Maybe I'll wait and, at some point in the winter when I think our weather is bad, I'll read it and realize how lucky I am.

You are one of my go to folks for spooky reads.. it is time to start looking for October reads.. any suggestions?

Speaking of suggestions, do you have any series that you can think of that go out of your library a lot ?
I am wracking my brains but have no idea... We do have a lot of Amish go out, Evanovitch, Macomber, Patterson, Those bakery? and Braun mysteries.. I just don't know. Can you think of any Amish series? we only have one or two :P

#120 Wasn't there a guy who used to organize a bunch of Halloween reads? Was it Mac? Can't remember.

Terri, as for the coaching, they gave us the option of in person, by phone, by email, and some other choices. I said I'd prefer email. Then I can read it or not. A few years ago, they had a coaching program and the pestering phone calls were annoying.

All caught up here, Terri. I've added the Ann Cleeves books to my WL, so thanks for that. And you are reminding me that I have the first Inspector Wallander book on my shelves just waiting for me. Hoping that your weekend is full of fabulous.

120 Spooky reads . . . haven't been thinking of them yet . . . let me think a bit and I'll probably come up with a suggestion or two. Amish series? I suppose you have Berly Lewis. Do you have any of the series by Wanda Brunstetter? She's really popular at our library. Other authors who have written some Amish-themed fiction: Shelley Shepard Gray, Cindy Woodsmall, Jerry S. Eicher, Beth Wiseman, Linda Byler, Mindy Clark Starns, Amy Clipston, Marta Perry, Mary Ellis, Kathleen Fuller. Hope that helps.

121 Linda, yes, it was Mac (blackdogbooks) who did it for several years. Last year he bowed out, and I think maybe Jim (drneutron) organized a Halloween thread. I don't know if any plans are in the works this year.

122 Mamie, why don't you try the Wallander book for September Series & Sequels? A fabulous weekend to you, too!

Yep, I organized last year's thread. I thought I'd ask for a volunteer for this year, but am waiting for the beginning of September. Maybe we should go ahead and decide!

I thought it was you, Jim... but I wasn't sure. You do a lot for us...

Kath's right, Jim. You do a lot.

Jim, do you want me to start a Halloween thread? I wouldn't presume to select a list for everyone else, but I'd be happy to volunteer to start a thread and post some ideas of books I'm thinking of reading. We usually all wind up doing our own thing anyway, as far as what we read.

Should we check with Mac, as a courtesy? He's not very active in this group any more, but he does have a thread and it was originally his project.

OK, so far this morning:

I decided to treat myself and made an egg, turkey bacon, and cheese sandwich for my breakfast -- then, just as it was ready, I realized I hadn't taken the pill I have to take half an hour before I eat. Not good, right?

No, it was perfect! Hubby came back from the gym at that moment, and I fed him the sandwich and made one half an hour later for myself. (It was good!)

Then I was taking the rest of my pills with my coffee (I know, I should use water to take pills, but these ones are only supplements.) Anyway, I choked on my coffee taking the last one, and, well, the supplement wound up in the coffee mug, kind of melted. Waste of pill, waste of coffee. And I'm not sure if it was the calcium, or the Osteo Biflex, since they're both huge, white, similarly-shaped things, and I wasn't paying attention except to make sure I had all the right pills in the pile when I started.

I think I shall try to get some extra calcium in my diet, in case that was the calcium tablet I missed.

Hubby is now shop-vac-ing the basement, as we had quite a deluge yesterday morning and our basement is leaky.

Yesterday, the big news was about a truck full of chicken manure that lost its brakes and crashed nearby, overturning. I understand no one was injured, but talk about a mess!

Oh, and the mail carrier mis-delivered someone else's catalog to my mailbox yesterday -- Victoria's Secret. Really not my style, must drop off at Post Office. I get so much mail for this woman to whom it was addressed, I almost feel like I know her. Same house number, totally different street. Something to do with screwy mailing barcodes, I gather.

Such is the mundane nature of my life these days. TMI?

I was just thinking, where/when I'm from, I still first think of Three Mile Island when I hear those letters, not Too Much Information.

On the book front, my ILL audio of Hell is Empty, by Craig Johnson, arrived yesterday. I've never done an audio with CDs before, as I don't have a portable enough player to carry a book-on-CD around with me. I listened at my computer last night while playing Free Cell. I have to drive a distance to a store today, and can listen some in the car.

127: I still first think of Three Mile Island when I hear those letters
Heh. Me too. A scary time.

I keep getting mail for same house number different street, fortunately only a block away so I can walk it there, but I don't check my mail daily (it's mostly junk and bills), which delays things such as package notifications, which the other house may consider important.

Looks like you had a good book haul on your vacation, Terri.

I used to get my Brother and sister in laws mail. We live on the west side of town and they live on the east side, same street. I would give them their mail until my BiL's paycheck was delivered to us. I went to the post office and they were so confused. Being from a small town the postal sorters were sorting by name not the address! I told them that the addresses were correct if they would go by that the mail would be correct. They looked at me like I was nuts but I haven't got their mail since. LOL

128 Unfortunately, Katherine, the street in question here is on the other side of town, and I do not really know the person at all. Plus, I figure if I take the mail back often enough, maybe the PO will do something to get the mail where it belongs??

129 Lori, I was really pleased with my finds!

130 Don't you love small town ways, Carrie?

I am not doing much reading these days. I'm listening to my audio book when I get a chance, but can't get my brain in gear to read.

School starts tomorrow, and my son is all excited. I have a training to go to for work (it would otherwise have been my day off) so I won't be home to hear how it all went at school when my son gets home. Hubby will get the scoop first, as HIS schedule permits him to be home then. There are changes to our catalog software that we have to learn about. Then, in a year or so, we'll have to learn a new system as this one is being un-funded. (sigh)

Then there are some other issues relating to the house & maintenance, etc., that are bugging me. I just can't concentrate on much right now.

I can't imagine getting mail from across town! The worst we get is the neighbor's mail. House number 4927 instead of 4917, for example.

That happens, too. We get the neighbor's mail sometimes, and I just take it over to them. But this other issue actually happens more often!

My son is off to school for the first day of the new academic year. I'm doing some cleaning this morning until it's time to go in to work for the training session at work.

Wishing for your son a great first day!

Thanks, Mamie!

Back to school already! It seems like the summer had barely started and here we are with fall just around the corner.

Summer has really flow by! He said he had a good first day back at school. Despite the difficulties his autism presents, he likes school a lot more than I ever did at his age.

I couldn't agree more about summer flying by. So glad to hear your son had a good day!

I've got to think about my reading for September Series & Sequels. I have an ILL of Broken Harbor, which I thought I'd have done before September, but I haven't even started it yet, so it's on the list.

My initial thoughts, subject to change:

Broken Harbor by Tana French (ILL)
Anarchy & Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (on TBR shelf)
Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke (at local Library)
Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon (at local library)
The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill (on TBR shelf)

On the non-fiction front, I may tackle the final volume of Shelby Foote's trilogy, The Civil War, A Narrative: Red River to Appomatox

Oh Good, Glad to hear he likes school again this year.
I am behind on Tana French. So many books etc

I am trying to comile lists of series.. I can't remember the site that does that.. isn't there one?

eta

fictfact? I think..

Just realized that, earlier, you mentioned a book about U.P. weather stories. So Cold the Sky.

Sounds wonderful and, in my 2014 category challenge, I have a "Cold" category.

My U.P. weather story is that we were going up to the U.P. around September 20th one year for fall colors viewing. We left Chicagoland wearing shorts because it was around 90. As we filled the trunk as we left, my last comment was "we certainly won't need this snow shovel" so out it came from the trunk.

We got to the western U.P. and it was snowing. People were giving us odd looks, what with our wearing shorts and all in the snow. We had to use our chalet's plastic lawn furniture to shovel out a path to the car the next morning.

140 Hi, Kath! Yes, it's fictfact.com. And my son is still enjoying school three days in . . .

141 LOL! Travel can be a real weather eye-opener, Linda! I wish I had a "cold" category this year -- I seem to have had a lot of books that would fit into it this year.
Cold Day in Paradise
Cold Day for Murder
The Cold Dish
Cover of Snow
Heaven's Keep (serious snow conditions)
and maybe some others that don't immediately come to mind. I tried to think of a TV series name that would work for that subject, but the best I could come up with was Northern Exposure," which is really about Alaska.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll add them to the 2014 Category Challenge cold category possibles.

I figure that, between Christmas books and hockey books and various cold-titled, winter-titled books, I should have plenty of books to choose from.

Funny, now that I think of it, the first three are all first-in-series mysteries. Just what you need, Linda -- more series to try!

I finished my e-book last night, reading in bed:

75 Challenge Book #82
Title: The Dante Connection (e-book)
Author: Estelle Ryan
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2013
Series: Genevieve Lenard #2
Date finished: 8/28/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes (virtual), No, Amazon
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: not sure
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: not sure
Notes:

Genevieve Lenard is and extremely intelligent woman with high-functioning autism, who works for a special insurer in France who covers many priceless works of art. She has made a formal study of body language, in an effort to compensate for her lack of intuitive ability to pick up on non-verbal cues, and in the process has become a leading expert on the subject; She sits in a room surrounded by computer monitors, studying video footage of people -- often people making insurance claims (to see if they're legit), among other subjects.

This book is best read after book 1, The Gauguin Connection, because the plot winds up directly following from aspects of that case. Genevieve's new friend Francine arrives at Genevieve's house, badly beaten. Then Genvieve is assigned to work on a baffling art-theft case. Soon Genevieve is receiving mysterious e-mails and packages of a threatening (and coded) nature. Computers have been hacked, privacy has been compromised, bad guys are obviously targeting our protagonist.

I honestly have a hard time deciding what I think of this series. I like the idea of a book where the main character has high-functioning autism. I even sort of like that this character is the narrator, which brings an odd flavor to the text. I don't like the inconsistency that this character supposedly has rigidly perfect grammar, yet I find sentence fragments throughout the story she's narrating. Mind you, I don't mind improper grammar in fiction if it's consistent with the character, but this isn't consistent.

The stories themselves seem a bit far-fetched, but I'm not much one for international conspiracy stuff involving European agencies and codes and computer hackers, etc. There's something that feels amateurish, but I wonder how much of that is the unique flavor the non-neurotypical narrator brings. Sometimes she seems spot on, sometimes not (as with the above-mentioned grammar issue).

I couldn't take a steady diet of these books, but I might read the next one when it comes out.

ETA to expand review

Phooey, I've actually already read the first two.

Oh, well.

I would probably count any of the Dana Stabenow books. The Sue Henry Alaskan mysteries, too.

I'm going to love tracking down some books to fit that category!!

Definitely, Donna Stabenow counts, regardless of title!

Good news: today Amazon is offering a Kindle freebie which is the first in a series where I already have the second book (also obtained as a Kindle freebie, I think).
A Reason to Live by Matthew Iden.

I picked that one up last year, but haven't read it yet... imagine that!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Terri - I haven't seen or read anything by Estelle Ryan and I am not sure you sell them too enthusiastically!
Have a lovely weekend.

Stopping by to wish you a weekend full of fabulous!

Glad to see your son is enjoying the new school year Terri:)

149 Imagine that, indeed, Kath! Oddly, I've dived right into the Amazon freebie I just got, and it's pretty good. Today I was stuck in the deli line for half an hour waiting for cheese, and actually pulled out my phone and started reading.

150 I can't say I'm really enthusiastic about them, Paul. A great weekend to you, too!

151 Thanks, Mamie, and the same to you!

152 Thanks, Bonnie!

I have another book to post, when I get around to it . . .

75 Challenge Book #83
Title: The Alphabet of Grace
Author: Frederich Buechner
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: n/a
Date finished: 8/29/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, No, Kindle download
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Touched By an Angel
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: unsure
Notes:

I don't know what I expected from this book, but it wasn't what I got. To appreciate this book, you have to have a mind for metaphor, more so than I seem to have. Some parts of it would bring an "aha!" moment, and I'd know exactly what he was getting at. Other moments I was lost in the fog, without a clue. There is some wonderful, brilliant use of language here. But I'm not brilliant enough to fully appreciate it. I alternated from moments of marvelous resonance (the "aha!") to utter confusion.

ETA tp add BWT, just to be clear, this is a book related to Christian spirituality.

Was it really good cheese? :) That seems a long wait!
I went to the store a week or so ago without my phone ( by accident of course) and had no idea what I needed to buy, because that's where I keep my list. ) Terrible that we have gotten so attached to our phones. At least I have. I too, have turned to my kindle book on my phone while waiting.

Kath, it was fairly good cheese at a very good price. And I didn't think it would take that long to get through the line, or I would have given up. It seems that everyone ahead of me wanted a lot of stuff from the deli, and after I'd stood there for a while, I hated to give up after investing the time already spent . . . of course, now I've learned of an even better cheese sale at another store later this week. Figures.

I finished my audio book:

75 Challenge Book #84
Title: Hell is Empty
Author: Craig Johnson
Copyright/Year of original publication:
Series: Walt Longmire #7
Date finished: 9/1/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, No, ILL
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: still deciding
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 3 stars
Notes:

OK, I love this series in general, but this one didn't work for me. It was just unbelievable, and I'm not just talking about the mystical elements. I've rather enjoyed the other-worldly touches that have graced previous installments of this series, but this one went much farther in that vein. Also, frankly, Walt's behavior almost from start to finish just didn't make sense to me. I think Johnson was trying to be fresh and creative, but I hope later installments will swing back a little more toward the style I've come to enjoy in this series.

I'm such a maroon. I thought The Alphabet of Grace was about, well, the alphabet. So I went looking for a book on the alphabet that I had read that I thought you might have liked better. Then I re-read your review and looked at the book page. LOL. Not what I was thinking at all!

Sorry, Morphy, I should have been clearer about what that book was about.

No, no. It was my fault for skimming.

Skimming is a necessary evil at times Morphy...

Terri.. the cheese line thing struck me :) since I had just read The Telling Room, which was great!

"I don't know what I expected from this book, but it wasn't what I got." LOL! We have all been there! Sorry to hear that the last Longmire didn't work for you - I'll keep that in mind when I get to that one. I am ready for Another Man's Mocassins.

And I am hoping to get back to Fever Devlin this month!

Kath, so right -- I've done much skimming lately on LT.

I'm getting lots of extra hours assigned at the library, just when I am most swamped with other stuff I must do. Why does it always work that way?

Mamie, I seem to recall that I liked Another Man's Moccasins, and Fever Devilin is always good company.

I'm reading two great mysteries. My e-book is A Reason to Live by Matthew Iden -- a freebie which has greatly surprised me by the quality of writing. And I am absolutely loving Broken Harbor by Tana French. I just wish I had more time to read these days! I'm also still struggling with The Guns of August, which I've tried via e-book, hard-cover, and audio. Too many names of unfamiliar people and places, which my tired brain cannot keep straight.

I'm making chili for supper.

75 Challenge Book #85
Title: Tamarack County (AUDIO)
Author: William Kent Krueger
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2013
Series: Cork O'Connor, #13
Date finished: 9/5/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, audio download from library
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: not sure
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: not sure
Notes:

This isn't my favorite of the Cork O'Connor mysteries. I felt like the mystery got lost at times amid the drama -- and, to me, melodrama -- of the O'Connor family saga. And too many of the plot turns were predictable -- I saw them coming a mile away.

It was still nice to spend some time with the characters from Tamarack County.

Good morning, LT friends! Fall is definitely in the air -- it's 48 degrees right now, and foggy.

Son is off to school -- he seems to be enjoying the academic year so far. Tonight he wants to go to the home opener football game.

I'm feeling a little bleh. My co-worker who had surgery is coming back to work next week, and another whose been unwell is gradually returning to work, but yet another is now unwell and I'll be covering some of her hours. The extra income is helpful, but my reading is suffering. Reading has mostly been via audio book while driving, exercising, and doing housework; and via the e-book on my phone during lunch break, waiting times, and in bed when I can't sleep. However, I did take a good block of time last night with Broken Harbor, which I'm really enjoying. One of the reasons I'm tired today is that I stayed up a little too late reading on . . . just can't do those late nights anymore.

This year, I've read more books electronically (combined audio and e-books) than on paper. I'm not sure I like that.
Paper books: 35
E-books: 25
Audio books: 24

I must get ready and head off to work . . . have a great day, everyone!


glitter-graphics.com

When I came home from work today, I found a pair of blue jeans on the ground by my garage door. Huh?

Possibilities:
1. Since neighborhood dogs have been getting into the trash next door, maybe they were a pair that was thrown away and a dog dragged them over here.
2. The neighborhood prankster kids are at it again -- scattering stuff from people's clothes lines, cars, and sheds onto other properties
3. Some kid wanted to wear shorts to school, but their parents said no; they wore the shorts under their jeans and discarded the jeans. However, kids who pull those stunts usually hide the discarded items in bushes or some such place. (A friend used to do this with galoshes all the time when we were in school.)
4. A criminal discarded evidence of a crime in my yard. (Yes, I read too many mysteries, and no, I didn't notice any bloodstains.)

Unless someone comes by and claims them, I suspect I'll never know.

Hi Terri- Sorry, I have not visited in quite some time but I think I am caught up now. I think the Split Rock Lighthouse was mentioned in Safe From the Sea, which I finished recently. It's a terrific read that takes place in the Duluth area.
I plan on getting to the 4th Longmire, very soon. And I've only watched a few episodes on the 2nd season but they've been good.

Hi, Mark! Safe From the Sea is on my radar to read . . . sooner or later . . . so many books, so little time . . .

That 4th Longmire, Another Man's Moccasins, was one I really liked. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Have you read Timothy Hallinan? He looks to be a very prolific crime writer. I am currently reading the first Junior Bender book, Crashed and it's highly entertaining.
I also NEED to get back to Mr. Wallander!

No, I haven't read him. Another series to check out . . .

Discarded jeans in the driveway.........start of a mystery novel in there for sure Terri. Good luck finding the rest of the mystery and have a lovely weekend.

I hope you have a great weekend, too, Paul!

I agree with Paul Terri---you've got the makings of a good mystery. The Mystery of the Lost Jeans or maybe Discarded!. A new career has just opened up for you haha.

Safe From the Sea is on my radar, too.. but so many books are heaped around me right now ..

Bonnie, it would be a cool start for a mystery novel . . . but I think what happened, one of the neighborhood dogs dragged the jeans off the neighbors clothesline. They've been claimed and removed from my yard.

Oh, Kath, I know too well the heaped books phenomenon.

OK, I fried my brain with three consecutive nights of late-night reading to finish this hard-to-put-down mystery:

75 Challenge Book #86
Title: Broken Harbor
Author: Tana French
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2012
Series: Dublin Murder Squad #4
Date finished: 9/8/13 (2 a.m.)
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, ILL from county library
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Dragnet
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): police procedural
Alternate category
My Rating: 4.2 stars
Notes:

This was a really great police procedural, very hard to put down. Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy is back, and dealing with one weird case. Three members of a family are dead, and the mother is seriously injured. The home in which the crime occurred is in a half-finished housing development in what used to be known as Broken Harbor -- a place with which Mick and his family have history. The home itself is a puzzle, with holes in the wall, multiple baby monitors when there's no baby, and a serious animal trap set up in the attic, among other oddities. What has happened here, and why?

Meanwhile, Mick's kid sister Dina is having a psychotic episode, which appears to have been sparked by news of the killings in Broken Harbor. Her behavior is making it hard for Mick to concentrate on his work, as Dina is a source of almost constant worry.

This was a crazy good ride as Mick and his rookie detective partner try to sort out the pieces. But nothing is quite as it appears -- in the household where the crime happened, nor among the police charged to solve it. We know almost from the first words of the book that this case won't end well -- how badly and why is a question hanging over the whole book.

Hi Terri, I'm sorry to hear that the last Craig Johnson and William Kent Krueger werem't up to par, but I am so behind in those series that it will be awhile before I get to them. Glad to hear you loved Broken Harbour as it will be my next Tana French.

Also glad you solved the mystery of the discarded jeans! :)

Sounds like a fabulous book but I hate starting in the middle of a series. Is there a good Tana French you can recommend I start with?

I think you'll like Broken Harbor, Judy. And the others weren't bad, just not as great as I'm used to, IMO. You might like them.

Morphy, the first in that Tana French series is In the Woods, and I thought it was very good. I didn't like the second, Faithful Place, as much -- I found it rather implausible. Actually, that series is rather a loose affair -- they center on different characters in the squad each time, so the order isn't vital. I didn't see any real spoilers in the last one for earlier books.

177 messages behind, and it only points to the fact that it was a very busy summer!

It is interesting that you note In the Woods. I started reading this book last week.

All the best to you.

I liked the first two quite well.. and really want to get to the third.. I'm glad to see that you liked it....

I'm behind on threads too, Linda. RL is just too busy to keep up. I hope you like In the Woods!

Hi, Kath! Yes, I personally liked the second one least, but all the others very much.

I'm not sure if it's allergies or a cold, but feeling rather rotten this week. Naturally, I'm working extra hours. I was a few minutes late getting home today, found my son waiting patiently with a big smile. There's a thunderstorm brewing now, I think I'll get off the computer.

I'm loving Susan Hill's The Pure in Heart.

I just finished this and ordered the next three in the series, used from Better World Books. They are having a 30% off their usual low prices sale for used books from their bargain bin, with their always-free shipping. And if they sell 40,000 books during the 5-day sale, they will double their usual book-for-book donations to libraries and literacy causes! I love how they list on the receipt what literary causes will receive benefit from my purchase -- today it was the Calgary Public Library (twice), the Vancouver Public Library, Sandy Relief Fund, The Learning Center, and the General Literacy Partner Fund. Way cool!

THE POSTING FORMAT:

75 Challenge Book #87 (Bonus Book #12)
Title: The Pure in Heart
Author: Susan Hill
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2005
Series: Simon Serrailler #2
Date finished: 9/11/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, Yes, purchased used sometime a year or so ago
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Masterpiece Mystery
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): British mystery
Alternate category
My Rating: 4.2 stars
Notes:

A young boy disappears while waiting for his ride to school. DCI Simon Serrailler is on the case, though distracted by the hospitalization of his severely disabled sister. Meanwhile, and young ex-con is trying to make a go of life "outside" following his release. Who knew the world could change so much in five years?

If you are looking for a book with a nice, tidy, happy ending, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a mystery where the focus is all on crime-fighting action, this is not the book for you, either. But if you like a good, complex story with some vivid characters and real-life-style ambiguities, you should give this a try. Yes, sometimes the mystery almost takes a back seat to the lives of the folks in the village, but it worked really well for me and kept me turning pages.

I think the fact that I just ordered the next three books in this series says a lot about how much I liked this book.

This is the first year that I haven't observed the anniversary of 9/11 with a book. I brought home Nine Months at Ground Zero from the library today, but I just couldn't bring myself to crack it open. I did organize a nice display of 9/11-related books at the library, though.

I started Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan this evening -- I believe it was his debut novel, back in 1994. It's set near Pittsburgh, in Butler, PA. I know he's from the Pittsburgh area.

I still feel lousy -- can't figure out if I'm actually sick, or if it's just extra-bad fall allergies.

Today was a WEIRD, WEIRD day. First my e-mail wouldn't work. Then I got to the library, and the plumber needed to get into the basement, and we couldn't find the key. Scanned books came up with improbable -- and definitely incorrect -- titles. Confusion abounded. Every time I started to do one thing, something else would go wrong and I'd have to stop and tend to the latest issue.

Things calmed down some in the afternoon, thank heavens.

Sounds like you have had quite the unnerving day, Terri. Glad to see it was mainly the morning that was weird and things started to normalize. ;-)

Lori, it got downright great after work. Our family went out to dinner at a local restaurant that's participating in a fundraiser for the library. Later, I had a good workout at the gym, and a quick and uneventful trip to the grocery store.

I finally got some reading time this evening, and finished the last bits of two books I was reading:

75 Challenge Book #88
Title: Snow Angels
Author: Stewart O'Nan
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1994
Series:n/a
Date finished: 9/15/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, Yes, purchased used last year
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: American Bandstand
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious): American story, and first line begins, "I was in the band the fall my father left . . ." and the band appears throughout the story
Alternate category
My Rating: unsure
Notes:

This was a very well written, but very depressing, story about two families falling apart -- one ending with violence, the other simply bringing heartache on all sides. We know from the start that the violence will come -- the gunshots ring out in the first few pages, and the rest of the book tells us how it came about, among other things.

Part of the story is Arthur Parkingson's first-person account looking back on the events in his life during the fall of his 14th year. Part is told by a third-person narrator which can't be Arthur -- there's no way Arthur could know the details included in the story during those segments.

I found it hard to like any of these people, including Arthur, though I felt moments of sympathy for many of them -- including, at times, the killer.

This was O'Nan's debut novel.

75 Challenge Novel #89
Title: The Guns of August
Author: Barbara Tuchman
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1963
Series: n/a
Date finished: 9/15/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: No, various library loans
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Winds of War
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 4.2 stars
Notes:

I finally finished Tuchman's account of the first month of World War II, which won the Pulitzer for non-fiction in 1963. (It couldn't win the prize for History because the rules for that prize stipulate that the book be about an American subject.) There were too many names of people and places for me to really keep sorted out; nonetheless, I got a sense of the complexity of events and the serious errors of judgment on all sides which led to what actually happened (as opposed to what anybody planned) when hostilities broke out.

ETA to fix a missing part of a sentence, which totally changed the gist of the post!

OK, I've definitely got the Chris Grabenstein series on my brain. Sunday in church I went to offer a prayer petition for the town that had the awful boardwalk fire (Seaside Heights) and I wound up praying for Sea Haven (the fictional town in the books) instead. (It was the name that meandered into my tired old brain.) Sheesh!

Ha! I can see it happening, Terri.

Your experience with Guns in August matches mine, except I haven't finished it yet. I put it down halfway through, maybe a year ago. That density of people and places just bogged me down. You're inspiring me to pick it back up and finish it.

Yes, Joe, "bogged down" is about how I felt halfway through. I probably wouldn't have finished, but I needed a book for my category challenge in the military category, and I'd already invested a lot of time in what I'd read of Guns of August, so I figured I might as well finish it. I'm glad I did.

I finished the last bit of the e-book I was reading. So now I've finished the huge pile of books I had started, except for the two that I formally put down as "temporarily abandoned." I'm not ready to go back to those right now.

75 Challenge Book #90
Title: A Reason to Live
Author: Matthew Iden
Copyright/Year of original publication: 2012
Series: Marty Singer #1
Date finished: 9/16/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes (virtual shelf), No, Kindle Store
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: not sure
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: not sure
Notes:

This was a reasonably well-written start to a series that shows some promise. The main character is Marty Singer, who took medical retirement from the Washington DC police force after he was diagnosed with cancer. He's approached by the now-grown daughter of a woman who was murdered years ago. The person tried for the crime was a police officer, and he was acquitted. Now daughter Amanda believes she is being stalked by him again, and turns to Marty for protection. Marty is eventually forced to face the fact that his illness & treatment place some limits on his stamina, and he turns to a former detective partner for help.

There is some good writing here. The mystery is interesting, and Iden also provides some insight as to what it's like to do battle with cancer. I found the ending of the book to be probably the least satisfying part of it.

Terri, you're a better woman than I am, for carrying on, despite your problems with the Tuchman book. I still need a couple of military/war-type books for my challenge but I got so bogged down in the John Keegan book on WW1 that I put it aside. I think I got about 20 percent into it.

While I would still like to read more about WW1, perhaps I'd be better off reading a more popular history-type book. I have no idea why I can read WW2 books just fine and have so much trouble with WW1 books.

Linda, I just think WWII feels so much more familiar . . . even though it was "before my time," at least my parents lived through it and I've known enough people who were veterans of that war that it doesn't seem so very long ago, whereas WWI seems so much less familiar. Odd, since I'm very familiar with the US Civil War, which was much more long ago. (But, then, the Civil War was closer to home . . .)

Now that I'm suddenly done the books I was reading, I must decide on new ones.

The one thing I'm relatively sure about is that it's time to read another in James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series for September Series & Sequels. Next up for me is Jolie Blon's Bounce. That will be my fiction book.

I need to select:
a non-fiction book (I always like to have one that I'm reading)
an audio book (for listening in the car, when exercising, and during housework)
an e-book (I use these mostly for lunch breaks, "waiting room" time, and reading in bed)
a devotional book (I've been lax by not picking up a new one when I finished the last)

And then I'll have another pile of books that I'm reading . . .

Terri, you raise interesting, valid points.

I think the difference for me, besides having read much, much more on WW2 and also having the personal contact, having grown up hearing stories from Mom's brothers about the war (WW2), there's also the fact that, for WW2, I tend to read more about the American connection. While reading about the American role in the war, things would often branch out into other things and so I've picked up more on that war.

For WW1, perhaps I ought to read a book about the American role and get more into the swing of it. I came across a book which I think was called The Last Doughboys. Hearing about the personal, and about Americans, might make a difference for me. Only then, once I've learned more about WW1, might I pick up the Keegan book again.

That makes sense, Linda.

Being suddenly done and having no book planned is disconcerting, isn't it? Well, it is for me. I wish I had a few more Mercy books... ph well.. I guess I'll check the pile behind my chair... I'm not in the mood for anything but fluff and easy reading...that has been the norm lately :)

Good day to you!

I haven't listened to many audiobooks but my favorite was The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. The two women who read it had the most amazing voices. I could have listened to them reading the phone book.

Kath, I actually enjoyed being book-free for a few moments. I really was pretty sure I'd go for Jolie Blon's Bounce (James Lee Burke) and had even checked it out of the library. The rest of the bunch I've picked, I just sort of stumbled into.

Morphy, that book is on my Ever Expanding List. Since you liked the audio so much, I'll look into reading it that way!

OK, I've got most of my book lineup settled:

Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke (mystery fiction)
Murder Bay by David R. Horwitz (e-book -- mystery historical fiction)
Dave Barry is Not Making This Up by Dave Barry (audio book / humor)
The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell (audio book / mystery fiction)
To Sleep With the Angels by David Cowan (non-fiction)

I have two audios because, after I checked out the Henning Mankell from the Philadelphia library using my computer, I wasn't able to log into their website from my phone Overdrive app to download the audio to my phone. Sometimes they go down for maintenance around 11 p.m. -- I should have figured. Wanting something right away, I logged onto Carnegie Library and downloaded the short Dave Barry thing, which I figured would be good for a laugh or two.

But after finishing my chores listening to half of the Barry, I wound up sitting and reading my hard-cover edition of To Sleep With the Angels, the heartbreaking account of the Our Lady of the Angels school fire in Chicago in 1958. That fire supposedly changed school fire codes around the country. But I remember attending schools buildings in the 1960's not so different from that one -- wooden floors, lots of wood trim, open stairways without fire doors, and overcrowded with kids.

I read until 2:30 a.m. Fortunately I don't have to work today, though I was up early to make sure my son was presentable for school picture day.

I was interested in the discussion about the wars that we read about. I realize that I usually pick both fiction and non-fiction books about war based on what country they are written about and in. Because I am not in the US I am probably more interested in WWI as it involved the country that I am from as well as the one that I live in. Besides, I have been reading more about WWI lately as the centennial of its commencement will be coming up next year.

199 I think most of us tend to gravitate toward things that are local, regional, our country, familiar or related to us in some way.

Another book finished:

75 Challenge Book #91
Title: To Sleep With the Angels
Author: David Cowan and John Kuenster
Copyright/Year of original publication: 1996
Series: n/a
Date finished: 9/18/13
Off the Shelf? Pre-2013 owned and/or ER? Source?: Yes, Yes, used bookstore
Category for 13 in 13 challenge: Emergency!
How does it fit the category? (if not obvious):
Alternate category
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Notes:

Fire is terrifying; the deaths of children are tragic. A fire which kills 92 children (and three of their teachers) is a horrible catastrophe. To Sleep with the Angels is the story of the terrible December 1958 fire at Chicago's Our Lady of the Angels school, which killed 92 children and three nuns and injured many more souls.

This book is very well written, setting the background, detailing the fire, and exploring the aftermath. In 1958, schools built before the "1949 Code" were still "grandfathered" so that they did not have to retrofit with automatic sprinklers and fire alarms which directly summoned the fire department, nor with fire doors in the stairways.

A fire at the base of a stairway smoldered some time, and when it burst forth it was not detected until too late for a great many children. By the time it was noticed by students and teachers in classrooms with doors closed, the upstairs hallway in the north wing was filled with black, acrid smoke which posed a formidible barrier to escape. Nuns and children prayed and waited for rescue that came minutes too late for many children due to miscues which included delay in contact with the fire department, a wrong address given, and a locked gate which got in the way of firefighters.

Questions and finger-pointing abounded. Misinformation was abundant. Much of the finger-pointing was unfair, given the facts which ultimately emerged; some of it may have had a basis. People who participated in rescue at great risk to themselves were criticized for not, somehow, doing more.

In the aftermath, there was no real psychological counseling available. Post-traumatic stress disorder was not understood in those days, and the encouragement to "just not talk about it" led to deeper problems.

This fire which scarred what was once a vibrant, tightly-knit neighborhood, did lead to changes in fire safety standards in Chicago, the state of Illinois, and the entire country.

Oh that does sound like a good one Terri. Onto the teetering tower it goes.

Not surprisingly, I read everything I can about the Our Lady of the Angels fire, Terri, and I think that book is among the best. I read it a few years before I joined LT or I would've talked about it more. I started in grade school in a Chicago Catholic school a half dozen years after the fire and it was still front of mind, even then.

It is, Bonnie!

Linda, I just checked my data, and this is actually one of the books I bought in that used bookstore the day we had our meet-up.

Aaargh! It's Pirate Speak day, mates! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum . . . actually, I really need a cup of coffee right now. I spent the day at a training session near Pittsburgh. It was very interesting (more so than I expected) but I'm not used to SITTING that much, plus all the sitting on the car ride to and fro (we carpooled).

So I don't think I'll be spending a lot of time on LT tonight. Once I finish getting supper, I think I'll go for a walk, maybe do a session at the gym . . .

TICKED. That is the training I was asked to go to, but Laura put the kibosh on it. She said it was too far.. but I was offered a carpooling set up .. but.. whatever. To think, I could have met you!!!Grrrr

Oh, darn! Too far for YOU, Kath? With carpooling? What was Laura thinking? We came from almost 2 hours away.

It was very, very informative. I didn't expect to learn much new, but the new sources on the PowerLibrary are very, very useful; and I learned a lot I didn't know about the stuff that has been there awhile. I came right home and showed my son some of what I learned, and he was interested, too. It made me want to jump right in and offer some kind of training to the local public on this stuff. The new BookFLIX connection is worthwhile for anybody with young children who has a broadband connection and a library card. (I thought the ILL stuff would be more interesting, but I only picked up a few pointers there.)

Oh, it would have been neat to meet you, Kath! Grrrr . . . .

When I saw that you posted that you were going, I became even more angry than I was originally....
I would have loved that *sulk*

It's a bummer that Laura wouldn't let you go to the training, Kath. *mutual sulking*

My current KIndle e-book, Murder Bay, has some things about it that I'd normally love. There is a portion that's set in Civil War-era Washington, DC, and a portion in Washington of the late 1950s -- both with lots of historical detail. Connecting the two threads, there's a ghost story. But it's just not working all that well for me so far. Meh.

I've got to decide what non-fiction book to read next.

IT sounds good though.. is it a library loan?
I haven't really done much of that.. not with kindle. I used to do it with nook...
poor nook sits in a drawer now..

I use kindle and my phone, my iPad...

You mean Murder Bay, Kath? Not library; it was a Kindle freebie a while back that I got to read on my phone. I see the e-book is listing for $2.99 now on Ammy.

:) yeah... I checked. I always like the "spooky" books that you like :)

Keep an eye on my thread over the next month or so, Kath. I am planning to do some serious Halloween reading . . .

I've got to go to work. Outta here! :)

Catching up! Some good reads here.

Hi, Lori!

Somebody, please hit me -- I just picked up another bagful of books from the library book sale.

I have nowhere to put them here. Stop me before I book shop again! :)

Terri> I can totally relate to that feeling! I've got to go find a spot on my genealogy bookshelves for the books I purchased during Heritage Books big sale last week. (Everything was 50% off if they'd published it.) I knew I had some of their titles in my wish list. Now, if GPC (Genealogical Publishing Company) would offer a similar sale! Oh, that's right, I don't have space for them anyway.

I've added bookshelves until I have no place to put any more. It really is silly. I'll never have time to read all these books, and I keep getting more. Plus there are so many good books available to read from the libraries.

I guess there are far worse addictions. . .

OK, I started one book of folklore -- Maine Ghosts and Legends -- but then decided to replace it in my current reading with another, The Ghosts of Virginia Volume II by L. B. Taylor, Jr. because that one will fit with September Series & Sequels.

I seem to be in the middle of too many books-in-progress again.

Morning Terri- In your recap of the Guns of August, you mentioned it taking place in 1963. Is that correct? I thought it was about WW1. I wonder if the book would play any better on audio.
M & M and S & S, reminds us, how difficult it is to keep up with series fiction. Yikes!
Have a great weekend.

On the news yesterday they were walking through display houses for an architectural showing. One was by book lovers. In *every room*, they had built in bookshelves. Not always floor to ceiling but in some way or fashion, there were shelves. Most rooms had the shelves on every wall. I was drooling over it.

Terri, I'm sort of kind of caught up. Glad the school year has started well for your son. Hope you have had your share of gremlins in the library and of the jeans dropper at home.
I wish I planned my reading. Or maybe I don't.....
And every room in our house now has book shelves. Bless the heart of DH who doesn't understand but is willing to enable my addiction!

Mark it was written in 1963 and won the Pulitzer for non fiction that year. Obviously I lost part of a sentence in that post. Darn, must fix. I did a significant part of it on audio, and wound up having to refer back to the book a lot.

Morphy, sounds like book-lovers heaven.
We have bookshelves of some kind in just about every room, but not planned in a way an interior designer would suggest.

Peggy, thanks for the good wishes for my son. No further mysterious jeans have appeared in my yard, and the library seems normal enough now.

Hi Terri! Just breezing through. : )

To Sleep with the Angels sounds interesting - if sad. I'm grateful for the fire safety in my school, even if it does go off when the dust gets stirred up in the art room and when the 1st years science teacher tests his experiment before school. ;)

Halloween reading!? I'll have to look at my list and see if anything fits. I've been meaning to read Hill House for a long time. The folklore approach sounds fun. Closest "really" haunted house I know of is in St. Paul. It would be fun to do a ghost walk for Halloween.

We have a haunted house attraction that is about halfway between my house and work. It's immensely popular. It looks like they are about ready to open, if they haven't already.

"I'll never have time to read all these books, and I keep getting more. Plus there are so many good books available to read from the libraries.

I guess there are far worse addictions. . ."

Could be a credo I live by, I suppose! At least I can honestly say that I don't have a useful resource in a good lending library nearby. I would probably have to fly for 5 hours to get that!

222 Hi, Kim!

223 Katie, I read Hill House through ILL a few years ago. I honestly didn't like it much, but I seem to be in the minority.

224 Lori, I just got a postcard advertising some kind of "scaremare" thing in a bank in Monongahela, but it's run by a local TeenQuest -- so somehow they must bring a Christian message into the scares.

225 Paul, if I was so far from the nearest library facility, I think I would probably bankrupt myself buying books.

I wanted to start a new thread today for Fall. Now it's almost midnight . . .

glitter-graphics.com

OK, I've got a new thread organized. Please join me at:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/159359