#Two4Tuesday

1. The tagged book was possibly my favorite of November. It was a really strong debut novel.

2. All of them! But I am crossing my fingers I‘ll find time to read another Margaret Drabble. I want to explore her body of work.

Thank you for tagging me @The_Penniless_Author 😊

My last book completed for the #NovelNovember readathon!

It was great fun to be back with the septuagenarians of Cooper‘s Chase. Once again, they outwit some very dangerous characters, often because they are underestimated. I really want Viktor to move into the community and I also hope Computer Bob returns.

My second book completed for the #NovelNovember readathon.

This book was so tense at times, I had to read to the end and get the worst of it over; then I went back to read the middle. All the students in 12 year old Justine‘s parochial school class want to win the approval of glamorous Mrs Price, who plays favorites…not exactly a healthy way to teach. But the school administration and parents seem just as enamored by her…and then thefts start…

My first completed book for the #NovelNovember readathon. This was a real page turner and exactly the kind of character driven sci fi that I wanted. Kyr lives a spartan existence, one of the last of a few thousand humans holding out against an alien enemy that would assimilate humanity. She was born to be a soldier in the common cause. But when she gets her first adult assignment, she begins to question everything she‘d ever been taught…

#Ihavequestions

1. Fell Murder by E. C. R. Lorac was among many excellent mysteries read this year for the #GoldenAgeCrimeClub ,because it introduced me to a new author.
2. I‘m going to switch out one of my #cloakanddaggerchristmas books for Truly Devious by M. Johnson b/c I‘ve heard great things and it came up in my library holds.
3. I really love it when we learn about all the suspects‘ dirty laundry. P. D. James was especially good at this.

QUESTION 3: “Jaunting” is probably the most truly “science-fictional” aspect of the story. Do you think it could ever really be possible?

#ClassicLSFBC

QUESTION 2: The story has a redemptive arc. Did it work for you? Is Gully more or less victimized than victimizer?

#ClassicLSFBC

I thought I‘d post a few discussion questions after all. I‘m tagging those who expressed interest in this #ClassicLSFBC splinter group. Anyone want to be added or removed, let me know! 😀

QUESTION 1: The book was originally published in 1956. How did it feel dated? How did it still feel relevant?

Here‘s my list for #CloakandDaggerChristmas. I doubt I will manage them all, but it‘s good to have ambitions. ?

1. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massy
2. Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Rayburn
3. An English Murder by Cyril Hare
4. The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey
5. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
6. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall
7. The Man Who Went Up In Smoke by Maj Sjöwall
8. The Body under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn

#Pemberlittens #HashtagBrigade

Which one is Marius? 😂 The young guy on the left?

If the holiday season inspires you to have murderous thoughts, l invite you to manage your mayhem by participating the 2024 #CloakandDaggerChristmas ! The prompts are just suggestions - any mystery you read between now and December 25 counts.

Tag me in your posts and if you make a TBR. Thinking about what I want to read is almost as fun as actually reading. 😂. Tagging those who commented on @merelybookish post last week, but all are welcome.

This is my currently reading stack and I‘m going to finish them ALL by the end of this #NovelNovember readathon!

This is my #10beforetheend stack! It doesn‘t include my current library books I‘m reading or the three group reads I have coming up. 😬 I‘m pretty much doomed to fail. 😂

#MaryWestmacottBuddyRead #LMWBR

A very short read and my favorite of the three Westmacott novels read so far.

A middle aged Englishwoman is stuck in a remote rest house on the Iran/Turkey border as she waits for a delayed train. It‘s just herself and her thoughts for three days and she has a revelation about her life and how she‘s lived it thus far. But will she implement any lessons learned when she returns to her regular, comfortable life?

#Weekendreads

Two buddy reads for #MaryWestmacottBuddyRead #LMWBR and #PemberLittens #HashtagBrigade respectively and one#BlameitonLitsy. Really enjoying all three.

#ClassicLSFBC
Every genre has its progenitors and this is one for Sci-Fi. I‘m not that well read in the genre, but I think one can see seeds for the Expanse series and Neuromancer in this title.

It‘s a story of revenge and transformation. Gully Foyle, a low life from whom no one expects anything, is abandoned and left for dead. This spurs him to a life of reinvention and education as he sets out to punish those who so callously cast him aside.

Look! It‘s Beth and Barbara Allen chatting about their engagements! 😂 This was a charming fairy tale of book. In the last chapter, I thought Tiny Tim might pop up with a “God bless us, every one!” Beth Carson begins as an assistant in Gowns in the same local department store her dad‘s worked at for 30 years. She‘d have liked to have gone to secretarial school, but there‘s no money for that. Her future looks up however when meets the boss‘ son.

Noticing a few parallels between this and Clothes Pegs. Janet Carson has a money box for a fur coat which is constantly raided for family emergencies, just like Ethel Brown‘s savings for her much wished for green velvet curtains. The dads even have the same name, George, and are hardware clerks. 😂 Lorna/Girda are very similar personalities as are Annabelle/Beth. Not complaining-clearly Streatfeild had a formula, if it‘s not broken, why fix it?

For my #TBRTarot “choose a book which has a person on the cover “ this month, I can use this Sci-Fi classic . 🚀 I‘m four chapters in and enjoying it.

Thanks for the tag @Eggs ! 😊

#TLT

✔️ YouTube
✔️ HeardleDecades
✔️ Wordsmith

Feel like playing? Consider yourself tagged!

#DeviledEggDay

🥚 Tagged
🍳 I love a good deviled egg!
🐣 Eggs are one of the few dietary sources of vitamin D.

Not too many books with “egg” in the title. If you can think of one, please join in!

Oopsie Whoopsie! I almost forgot about our last #FurrowedMiddleBrowClub pick of 2023. 😬 Thank you @LeahBergen for reminding me. 😊

It‘s the return of club favorite, Susan Scarlett. I‘m expecting a sweet romance, let‘s see if I am right. As usual, we aim to be finished around mid month. Please post any thoughts you care to share as you go and tag the club members.

Any other Littens want to be included, let me know. 😃

#HashtagBrigade #Pemberlittens

This is my paperback edition that I will be reading from.

Mr. Digby is minding his landlord‘s bookshop for an afternoon, during which 3 men come in separately, all looking for the same, slightly obscure, Bunyan title. Then, just before closing, a boy arrives with that very title to sell. Coincidence or mystery? Mystery of course! What secrets does the book hold? At just under 200 pages, this was a quick and satisfying read. Mr. Digby is a charming, middle aged sleuth.

#GoldenAgeCrimeClub

Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView ! 😊

1. The tagged book by Hari Kunzru completely creeped me out. Also Shirley Jackson‘s The Haunting of Hill House.

2. Maybe Jaws or the Shining?

3. In a movie-jump scares! I do jump! 😂

#TerrifyingTuesday 😱

Book two of the Tawny Man trilogy. This is largely a place marker where the events of the last book are mostly resolved and the scene for the next is set up. Fitz becomes further entrenched in Farseer plans as he becomes a mentor to the prince. His relationship with his foster son is stressed, but most of all his friendship with the Fool is strained to the breaking point. Great stuff. Hoping to get to the last book this year! 🤞

#SeriesLove2024

1. I do not. I do believe in “fake it till you make it” because I have occasionally achieved this, though it can take a toll on one mentally.

2. The tagged book that I never finished.

#Two4Tuesday

Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author ! 😊

1. probably use 😃 or 😂 the most. I try to keep positive.

2. Anything by Terry Pratchett puts a smile on my face and makes me laugh, including the tagged book.

Thank you for the tag @The_Penniless_Author ! 😊 Any one else feel like playing, consider yourself tagged. 👍

#Two4Tuesday

🚀 Because we REALLY, REALLY want to read it and it doesn‘t look like it‘s gonna make the #LitsySciFiBookClub choice for Nov. 2023, @Bookwomble and @RamsFan1963 and I are offering a parallel #ClassicLSFBC readalong of the tagged book. If you‘d like to join this splinter group, please do! All are welcome. I‘m tagging the #LSFBC group, if any of y‘all are interested. 😃 It‘ll be💯low key, just read it and post your thoughts in November as you wish.

Three Queer couples spend Christmas to New Year‘s together in a converted farmhouse in upstate New York. This was an overwhelmingly detailed and uncomfortable book. Not due to queerness, but because the main character, Sasha is so awful and up her own butt. There‘s some interesting commentary on the performative aspects of gender and femme vs butch lesbianism, but not enough to counteract the self absorption and superficiality of the rest of it.

This cover is awesome, but so misleading! The book is certainly not gothic or even particularly romantic. Basically it‘s a narrative of one woman‘s middle class life in early 20th century England. When the book opens, she is poised to jump from a cliff. Then the story goes back to show how she got to this moment on the brink of self destruction. Honestly, I found her so incredibly bland, I wasn‘t invested in the outcome. #MaryWestmacottBuddyRead

#Two4Tuesday

Thank you for the tag @The_Penniless_Author . 😊

1. I‘m not a fan of pumpkin spice in my coffee, but I do enjoy pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie. 😋

2. Definitely spooky stories over cozy mysteries! Though I‘m not always 100% sure exactly what a cozy is…🤔

#Weekendreads

Except for Tess, I just cracked all of these open this weekend. I rarely have only one book on the go anymore - gotta mix it up!

A weakish sideways thumb from me. It was entertaining but too drawn out for me, given its thriller-like premise. A DC university has a special program for psychopaths, to help them assimilate better and control their impulses. What could possibly go wrong?

What a voice! This is an unconventional novel told mostly in first person and in Black American vernacular about a trans woman‘s 48 hours after being paroled. I felt Hannaham is riffing on Joyce‘s Ulysses, putting his own spin on it. There is minimal punctuation, stream of consciousness, switches from 1st to 3rd person in the same paragraph...one has to read it carefully. I found it surprisingly exuberant despite the dark subject matter.

Thanks for the opportunity to win a book and celebrate your six year Litsyversary @BarbaraBB it‘s been a real pleasure getting to “know” you virtually. 😊

The tagged book is definitely one I‘m looking forward to in 2024! The fourth and last book of the Locked Tomb series.

I tag @Bklover and @dabbe !

#BBGiveaway

This is the copy I will be reading from for the October #Pemberlittens #HashtagBrigade group read. It‘s used from Thriftbooks. Normally I‘d invest in a Penguin black spine classic edition, but I‘m pretty sure I‘m not going to want to keep this one. In fact, I think I will want to throw it across the room, from what I know already about the plot. 😬

This is what I‘m reading for the #20in4 readathon this weekend. I had a handyman come repair a bathroom door this morning, so my house is actually pretty clean! Never want the repair guy passing judgement on my housekeeping. 😂 More time for reading this weekend as a result.

#TLT

Thank you for the tag @Bklover 😊

⭐️ Keanu Reeves
⭐️ Sandra Bullock
⭐️ Hugh Jackman

Because they all appear to be kind and down to earth people in real life.

#Two4Tuesday

🍁1. The tagged book was one of the most enjoyable books I read in September.

🍁 2. I‘m looking forward to tackling Tess of the D‘Urbervilles this October for #Pemberlittens #Hashtagbrigade I‘ve never read any Hardy before.

Feel like playing? Consider yourself tagged! 😃

#Weekendreads

🇮🇳Still plugging away at A Passage to India for #Pemberlittens #Hashtagbrigade

🇺🇸 The Turquoise Shop must be finished by Sunday morning for the #GoldenAgeCrimeClub pick.

🇷🇺 I hope to at least get a chapter or two in from City of Thieves in between.

Making progress on my planned #SummerEndReadathon books, with a only a small diversion when I read A Pale View of Hills. Four more books to go and nine days left! Can I read the remaining four books? 😬

Thanks for the tag @Eggs 😊. #TLT

I‘ll limit my responses to books…you might notice a commonality. 😂

1. Mr. Murdstone from David Copperfield
2. Mr. Tulkinghorn from Bleak House
3. Bradley Headstone from Our Mutual Friend

Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author 😊

1. I had a paper route when I was 12-13.

2. No. When I lived in Germany, I tried to teach English on the side but I wasn‘t very good at it and my 9-5 job exhausted me already.

3. I think so, but I don‘t think corporate employers really support it. They just mouth the words.

#WondrousWednesday

Thanks for the tag @Bklover ! 😊

1. While I skip it often, breakfast is my favorite meal.

2. Wahala by Nikki May had mouth watering descriptions of Nigerian food. 😋 Sweetbitter by Stephanie Dandler was, in my opinion, an accurate depiction of the stress and the euphoria of restaurant work.

#Two4Tuesday

#TBRTarot. A book with five words in the title

I‘ve long wanted to read Ishiguro‘s back catalogue. This was his debut novel. Enigmatic and haunting. A Japanese woman looks back on her life and the choices she made shortly after WWII in Nagasaki. There‘s a lot of room for interpretation here, a lot which is left unexplained. Interesting to see some “typical” Ishiguro themes have been since the beginning.

Really great discussion on the podcast Backlisted on Vonnegut and the novel Galapagos, if you‘re interested. https://www.backlisted.fm/ and haven‘t already listened. The guest is author Shehan Karunatilaka whose Booker Prize winning novel I admired more than I loved, but I love him here as he declares his love for Vonnegut (and the band The Police). Very satisfying for Kurt Vonnegut fans.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

This was fun. 😃 It took a bit for the story to get set up but once it did, it was full speed ahead. A kindly GP financially aids one of his elderly patients and she insists on his taking a chest of old paintings in exchange. Is it a bunch of junk, as his daughter insists? Or could it be priceless Renaissance art as the local librarian suspects? Plots and counter plots ensue, with a little romance thrown in to the mix.

I was no fan of A Confederacy of Dunces, but I also read it 30 years ago. I‘m not the same person I was then. At first this book annoyed me because like Ignatius J. Reilly, the narrator is a self absorbed sociopath. But it‘s a short book, I persevered and I was able to enjoy it, weird as it is. I laughed out loud a few times. A woman adopts Treasure Island as a self help book and proceeds to alienate everyone around her. TW for animal neglect.

This is what I have on deck this weekend! 😃 One for #PemberLittens #HashtagBrigade one for #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub and one library pick.

#Weekendreads