I was dithering between two Beagle books at the public library, but I knew I choose the right when it opened with a raven stealing a whole bologna from a deli.

Fun addition to this series, but kind of place holder.

An interesting book full of disappointing men and the power they have over a woman's idea of herself.

Fun mystery. I usually don't go in for these locked room puzzle kind of mysteries, but I enjoyed it. I need to find more mysteries in translation. The ones I've read recently haven't disappointed.

Great read. Packing the unsettling emotional punch and twisty plot I've come to expect from Tanya French.

Vacation! Very early at the airport, but I have the latest Tana French to keep my company. I've been saving it for a month.

I'm on a short story kick. This title charmed me. The stories I've read so far are about inequality between women and the men their lives--lovers, friends, people they barely knew in high school.

A great read. The mystery was satisfying, and it was fun to see the characters in a new setting.

I've just started this. I've the other books in the Hangman's Daughter series, and they were all well-plotted with great characters. And they are fun reads. I need to look for more mysteries in translation. The ones I've read so far have not disappointed.

Christmas gift cards are kind of magic.

Really odd reading experience. The characters and their motivations seem abrupt and unreflective. But that makes them seem more realistic. I guess I'm just more comfortable with over articulate, overthinking characters.

Really built on the characters and relationships established in the first book. And the plot was more complex and shifty. The murderer really was a surprise.

Just the Britishy Christmas thing--a Christmas pantomime, snow, and a murder.

Just finished this. The ending wasn't a super surprise, but I really liked the characters and spending time with them in post-war Brighton. Already started sequel--Smoke and Mirrors--which is set at Christmas time. Nothing like a good Christmas mystery. I'm going to make some tea and press on.

Started this yesterday. Fun holiday read. I like things set in slightly seedy seaside Brighton.

If you are looking for fun, compelling read for the new year, I highly recommend Girls the Kingfisher Club. It takes the fairy tale of Twelve Dancing Princesses and moves it to the speakeasies of 1920s New York. And Kelly Link calls it "extraordinary and marvelous".

I really enjoyed these fairy tale retellings. Lots of mixing of stories and intrigue.

I understand the how a seemingly menial job can throw you into the orbit of people who wouldn't normally speak to you. And how easy it is to get caught up in the drama of work place and even find a bit of magic in it. Over Easy does a really good job of showing what that looks like and how it feels. But it didn't really go anywhere, and the conclusion felt abrupt.

Just started this. I'm a sucker for graphic novel memoirs written by women.

Just started this. There is something about the combination of the mundane and the magical and his language that really sucks me in.

The book was excellent. Lots of insight about race and class in the1950s. And you get back story of generations of the family and how the past decisions about career, love, color, and education shape the characters of the bride's family. And it sucks you in the usually wedding drama.

Finally finished this on my vacation day today. I got a little bogged down in the last section which sketch book and random bits. But the main autobiographical story line was great and filled with goofiness and an occasional feminist rant.

@bookriot thanks for the recommendation. I'd never heard of Dorothy West until this morning.

Really enjoyed this novel, a really departure from from the usual WW II bringing out the best in people. And I think that everyone should have a suffragette godmother.

Interesting read, but I understand why it's not read more often. The plot is bit baggy and round about even compared to other Dickens novels. I thought Paul Dombey (the son) was one of the more interesting version of the angelic dying child.

Enjoyed more than I expected. Plot was tighter than the last few in the series.

Happy totsgiving Litsy people. It's no toast and jelly beans, but I do what I can.

Taking a much need Dombey and Son break 700 pages in. Todd's Bess Crawford series is a bit more contrived and not as satisfying as the Ian Rutledge mystery, but it doesn't keep me from reading them.

I loved all the ads at the end of each issue and really enjoyed Penelope's back story. But it is chilling if timely read right now.

Good entry in the series. Setting of a turn of the century American Normal School for women was novel.

Making some progress with this and enjoying it. The son is an odd little character.

Enjoyable read. Westerners get caught up in global politics they don't understand. Love story about two people brought together by fate and dictatorial coup.

More Monk backstory. He was sailing around gold rush California. Who knew (not Monk, of course)? Not best entry in this series, but a fun read.

@Liberty since you mentioned it,here's my favorite James Thurber quote. I couldn't check against a source. He describes a homeopath relative. His secret to longevity was to take a tablespoon of kerosene in the morning and one at night. I'm not sure if it his father or some Uncle reacting, but this the quote. "I'd rather die like a man than live like a lamp." I read that over 20 years ago , and it still makes me laugh every time.

About a hundred pages in. I love Lively's novels. They have a certain detachment and birds eye view, but still tell engaging, intimate stories about relationships and happenstance.

Interesting graphic novel of interconnected short pieces about to women cosplayers. Very Chris Ware/Daniel Clowes in tone.

Book nerd birthday part two.

Book nerd birthday a few weeks ago.

Satisfying ending. Everything blows up for all of the character yet you feel they end up in the right places without being too neat or easy.

When book nerds have a birthday . . . I couldn't decide between this one and the Persuasion one, but my boyfriend tactfully made the decision for me by getting this as my present.

Just started this and I'm already sucked in.

These stories take the normal emotions, resentments, social desires, and responses to gender iniquity and drive them right off the cliff. And yet, all the self-serving calculating, rage, and shallowness come from a devastatingly funny and emotionally honest place. Time spent with these housewives was well spent.

Just started this and loving it. Presents the mundane in most quirky and believable way.

The book maintains the tone of the original, but it isn't reductive and doesn't provide easy answers. Yet it manages to move the plot, characters's emotional development forward in a very satisfying way. I high recommend it!

Just started this and got sucked in. Love the occasional pithy pessimism and complicated struggle of these post- industrial up-state New Yorkers.

Just finished this. It was a little busy in the plot, but a the feeling of slight confusion seemed in keeping with characters who were flailing around try to find a place for themselves after arriving in Rome. I don't know enough about the Ancient Roman Empire to pick holes in the history. And I didn't guess the murder in advance. A fun read.

Just finished this. It was a little busy in the plot, but a the feeling of slight confusion seemed in keeping with characters who were flailing around try to find a place for themselves after arriving in Rome. I don't know enough about the Ancient Roman Empire to pick holes in the history. And I didn't guess the murder in advance. A fun read.

Mystery set in York in the time of Richard II. Fun mystery with a twisty plot. Scratches my itch for a new Matthew Shardlake book (C.J. Sansom).

Really enjoyed the world and characters of smoke. Everyone was so fleshed out yet morally ambiguous.

They had me at Fart Party.