What Fiction are you reading this week, March 5, 2023?

[hermetic]

I'm a roadie...


Reading A Scandal in Scarlet by Vicki Delany, the shrewdly plotted fourth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery. So many suspects and so few clues, Gemma's deductive prowess will be essential in solving this case.

I also borrowed Let Me Tell You, a collection of previously unpublished short stories and essays by Shirley Jackson. I've always loved her writing and this book doesn't disappoint. So far her stories are wonderfully eerie and the essays are described as witty and unforgettable.

Finally got started listening to Phaedra Patrick's The Messy Lives of Book People. Don't have a lot of listening time right now. Too busy shoveling snow, every day.

This month sure is roaring in like a lion. Hope you all are staying safe and warm where you are. So, whatcha reading?

[leftieNanner]

1. Lessons in Chemistry

By Bonnie Garmus.

Wonderful story. Funny and powerful.

Dealing with misogyny in science in the 50s and 60s.

Definitely recommend.

[hermetic]

5. A winner

Set in 1960s California, featuring the singular voice of Elizabeth Zott, a scientist whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show. "Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist."
Will have to get this one.

[northoftheborder]

15. Just started this!

Very entertaining so far!

[SheltieLover]

7. Sounds great!

Thx for sharing!

[judesedit]

12. I'm gonna check it out. Thanks

[Jeebo]

2. "Millennium" by Jack Anderson.

Just a 20-plus-year-old paperback I picked up more or less randomly lying around somewhere, but it actually is pretty hard to put down. I think I read it 20-some years ago, but I read so many of them that they tend to slip down the memory hole after a while. My 73-year-old brain has developed a pretty wide memory hole by now.

-- Ron

[hermetic]

4. Sounds interesting

"Disguising himself as a human, an extraterrestrial being lands in Washington, D.C., to warn humankind of an imminent invasion, but a mugging, a technology-crazed agent, and a drug gang thwart his well-intentioned efforts."

[The Blue Flower]

3. Courting Mr. Lincoln

By Louis Bayard, author of The Pale Blue Eye. Abraham Lincoln is a young lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, finding his way through relationships with Mary Todd and Joshua Speed.

[hermetic]

6. Lovely

“Rich, fascinating, and romantic.” -- Newsday

[SheltieLover]

8. The Cat, the Wife, & the Weapon, Leanne Sweeney.

Jillian Hart, kitty quilt crafter & protagonist is anxious about her significant other's abrupt & unexplained disappearance.

When Tom returns, secrets are revealed & the story gets very interesting.

This is one of "The Cat" series by Sweeney. I've read several & they've all been excellent reads.

Also reading The Family Plot, Cherie Priest. Protagonist works for her dad, an antique building supply business owner.  She & her crew arrive at a rather spooky mansion to inventory what they will salvage prior to the impending demolition. Okish. Nog a great read, but working through it.

Over the past few days:

The curious charms of arthur pepper, Patrick - interesting tale of travel & self-discovery related to mysteries which surfaced about his deceased wife.  Great bibliotherapy for those stuck in a never-ending cycle of grieving &/or doom & gloom.

All fudged up, Nancy Coco.  Delightful cozy set on Mackinac Island, with Allie having recently inherited a hotel & fudge shop.  Mal, her puppy is the hero of the story.  It doesn't get much better than that. Lol

This is a delightful series.

Racing the light, Crais. Another Cole & Pike adventure. Exceptional, as always!

The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen. Awesome read with a super twist near the end!

The Firefly Dance, Sarah Addison Allen. This one is set in rural western NC, a favorite region near & dear to my heart. Another self-discovery, bibliotherapy-type read.

On my tbr menu this week are yet another by Fern Michaels, Baldocci's The 6:20 Man, "Murdef Your Employer," by Rupert Holmes, and another Cole & Pike by Crais.

I've been enjoying Phaedra Patrick's work, too. And loved Delaney's Sherlock Bookshop series.

Ty for the thread!

[hermetic]

10. Impressive

As always.

[SheltieLover]

13. Nothing else to do.

Not trying go impress anybody, just sharing great titles.

Ty for the thread!

[hermetic]

17. I just find it impressive

that you get through so many each week and remember all the tiles and their authors. I can't do that. Even if I write them down I usually can't find that piece of paper come Sundays. Being an avid reader is something to be proud of, I believe. (I even forgot to put that in this week. )

[SheltieLover]

18. Remenber the titles? Pfffft...

From memory, I couldn't tell you either of the 2 I'm currently reading.

I make a list in phone note pad as I read all week, then copy it into the thread to share with our group. Lol

I hope you & others find the lists helpful. My worst nightmare these days would be to run out of good books.

[judesedit]

9. 1984

I want that sweatshirt

[hermetic]

11. Me too

I've seen a couple of ads so just do a search and you'll probably find some available. Than take pictures to share.

[SheltieLover]

20. Same here!

Love it!

I might just get a bunch of different colored t-shirts & live in them over the summer.

[judesedit]

25. They are available thru Amazon and, I think I saw, Walmart

Don't know if you visit those sites. I go as infrequently as possible, but might make an exception for that shirt lol.

[SheltieLover]

26. Thx!

Of the 2, I prefer Amazon, primarily because I don't have to go out around covidiot magats.

I'm always thd only person in a mask, whivh would be fibe if they all weren't exhaling. 😏

Ty!

[judesedit]

27. Lol. Me, too, with the mask. Amazon has the one shown above in a variety of colors

Plus t-shirts and regular sweatshirts, no hood. You're very welcome

[Magoo48]

14. C J Box, STORM WATCH, a Joe Pickett novel.

[hermetic]

16. The new one!

"Pickett investigates a mysterious death at a secret remote high-tech facility in this riveting new novel."

Very timely: an epic spring storm, crypto mining, militant activists demanding that Wyoming join other western states and secede from the union. Dang. Literally "ripped from the headlines."

[Magoo48]

29. Timely indeed, at least weather wise and the range of views held by the array of characters.

[SheltieLover]

21. Sounds great!

Thx for sharing!

[Magoo48]

30. It's a great series.

[SheltieLover]

31. Are they all about animal abuse?

The few I've explored seem ti have been. I cannot read animal abuse stories.

[Magoo48]

32. Yes, it's a common theme, because the main character is a game warden.

🙋?♂️

[SheltieLover]

33. Kind of had a feeling...

Ty for sharing! I'll need to pass on these then. I just can't...

[cbabe]

19. Storm Watch is on my library holds list. Also

re-reading Stanford/Lucas Davenport prey novels after a goodwill book prowl.

That’s a busy busy store area.

Ps I want the sweatshirt, also. And maybe a t?

[SheltieLover]

22. I want a bunch of different color t-shirts for summer

Books (& DU, of course!) are literally my life atm, so may as well support both!

[joshdawg]

23. "Deep Fathom"

by James Rollins. A real page-turner just like the rest of his novels.

[hermetic]

24. Exciting

Solar flares have triggered a series of gargantuan natural disasters. Earthquakes and hellfire rock the globe. The death toll rises at an unimaginable rate. And in the midst of chaos, Air Force One and America's president have vanished from the skies.

[yellowdogintexas]

28. Currently reading The Ice Swimmer by Kjell Ola Dahl A Norweigan murder

mystery. It is part of a series, which I happened to pick up at volume 6.

synopsis:
When a dead man is lifted from the freezing waters of Oslo Harbour just before Christmas, Detective Lena Stigersand's stressful life suddenly becomes even more complicated. Not only is she dealing with a cancer scare, a stalker and an untrustworthy boyfriend, but it seems that both a politician and Norway's security services might be involved in the murder.

With her trusted colleagues, Gunnarstranda and FrØlich, at her side, Lena digs deep into the case and finds that it not only goes to the heart of the Norwegian establishment, but it might be rather to close to her personal life for comfort.

Dark, complex and nail-bitingly tense, The Ice Swimmer is a simply unforgettable instalment in the critically acclaimed Oslo Detective series, by the godfather of Nordic Noir.

'If you want your worst fears about what goes on inside a cop's mind confirmed, meet Kjell Ola Dahl's Oslo sleuths, Gunnarstranda and FrØlich ... impossible to put down' Guardian.
I will be back to this author again. The names are kind of interesting to get around but worth it.

This week I completed The Commandant's Daughter and I recommend it.
It wasn't until I was nearly finished that I discovered it was the first book in a series. I was very happy because this book left me really wanting more of these people.
Also, it turns out "The Secretary" one of my best books from a couple of years ago was written by the same author.

I also read Murder Drama With Your Llama which was a welcome break from the WW II I appear to be on. First in a series too:

Liquor, lies and llamas in a town called Friendship... what could possibly go wrong?

Out-of-work actress Sophie LaFleur is ready for a scene change.
When she discovers she’s inherited both a house and pub in quaint Friendship Harbor, Maine, she’s thrilled.
This is exactly what she needs— fresh start, fresh air and fresh faces.

What she doesn’t need is a trouble causing llama named Jack Kerouac or a hunky, disinterested pub manager who just so happens to live in her guesthouse.

Just when you think it can’t possibly get worse, it does.

Two words. Dead. Guy.

Now the new girl in town is public enemy number #2. The honor of #1 currently belongs to her inherited ornery llama, which just so happens to be the suspect in the death of a well loved, elderly man.

Except Sophie quickly learns he isn’t as well loved as she first thought. She also suspects that his death might not have been at the foot of her cantankerous llama.

Sophie didn’t leave the theatrics of L.A. just to be caught up in llama drama... or a murder investigation.