What Fiction are you reading this week, July 11, 2021?

[hermetic]

I am reading Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves, the third Vera Stanhope Mystery. Good story. I'm a big Vera fan. I bought a couple of Cleeves last year when the library was closed and decided this would be a good time to read them, since I'm not going out these days due to the heat.

Next up on my listening list is The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, the next in the Thursday Next series. Very entertaining.

What are you reading this week?

They actually canceled the Farmer's Market here yesterday, due to the heat. That's a first. They didn't even close last year for Covid. Stay cool, friends.

[onecaliberal]

1. Republican news.

[berniesandersmittens]

2. Just finished up Holly Black's The Cruel Prince trilogy

Next up is "Arena" by Holly Jennings.

I ordered "Winterkeep" by Kristin Cashore. It's her 4th book of the Graceling series.

[hermetic]

3. Nice

Lots of fantasy, romance, and sci fi. Sounds enjoyable.

[cilla4progress]

4. Run,

by Ann Patchett, who I discovered earlier this year. I really enjoy her writing. I like books where there aren't too many characters.The topic is prescient in some degree: focuses on race and inequality, discusses a Black person being President - pubished in 2007.

[hermetic]

6. She icertainly has a lot to offer

writing in so many genres: Romance, Suspense, Comedy / Humor, Animals, Women Sleuths, Terrorists, even Kids' books. I'd like to read Bel Canto, State of Wonder, The Magician's Assistant, The Patron Saint of Liars. All very highly rated.

[cilla4progress]

10. Hermetic,

you are a gift.

Thank you!

[hermetic]

11. Thank you

Reading is my thing; always has been. And I just like to share what I learn with others.

[bif]

21. Absolutely one of my favorite writers!

She writes in so many styles and voices. She's a gem. And she's prolific too. So there's a lot of great reading ahead!

[japple]

22. Gotta put that one on my list. Have read several of her books and remember Patron Saint of Liars

from years ago. Bel Canto was awesome.

[The King of Prussia]

5. Devil's Garden by Aline Templeton

A new author to me. A police procedural set in the Scottish Borders. Pretty good so far.
Previous read was Fatal Isles by Maria Adolfsson. Another police procedural - set in Doggerland, an imaginary set of islands in the North Sea between England and Denmark. Pretty good but about 100 pages too long. Doggerland really did exist, but was inundated in pre-history.
Covid is raging out of control AGAIN, but us oldies who are doubly vaccinated seem to have little to fear.
I'm off to watch the European Championship final on TV- more in hope than expectation. I think it could turn quite nasty should England lose.

[hermetic]

8. Ms. Templeton

has a number of mystery, cozy, and thrillers to choose from. I've just added her to my list since I always enjoy reading about Scotland.

I do hope England comes through. I hate when it gets all rioty at games' end. I shall keep myself apprised of the situation there. Cheers.

[hermetic]

28. Well it sure did turn nasty

Though not quite in the way one would have expected. Those poor young lads, having it all blamed on them when the coach obviously made the mistakes. Or maybe he was paid off? That would be quite a story.

[The King of Prussia]

32. In my opinion

we were nowhere near good enough. Getting to the final was an extraordinary achievement. I'm over it. There's been a lot of racist abuse directed at the lads that missed, which is absolutely to be expected in Johnson's England.

[Laffy Kat]

7. I'm still getting through "Phase Six" another pandemic novel.

It's by no means a long book, I simply haven't had much time to read this week.

[hermetic]

9. Yeah, same here

Ah well, a little is always better than none at all.

[northoftheborder]

12. Just beginning "The Long Ships"

Has anyone read this? Early Viking and European era, 900-1000AD. Pubished in the 1940's in Sweden, recently translated.

[hermetic]

14. I haven't, but

I did just read about it....

This saga brings alive the world of the 10th century AD when the Vikings raided the coasts of England. Acclaimed as one of the best historical novels ever written, this engaging saga of Viking adventure in 10th century northern Europe has a very appealing young hero whose story we follow from inexperienced youth to adventurous old age. The salt-sea spray, the swaying deck awash in slippery blood are the backdrop to fascinating stories of King Harald Blue Tooth, the Jomsvikings, attempts to convert the Northmen to Christianity, and much else. Like H. Rider Haggard, Bengtsson is a master of the epic form.

So, it sounds quite awesome.

[Polly Hennessey]

13. Just started a new "bedtime" cozy: A Bone to Pick

by Charlaine Harris. Also started, A Fair Warning by Michael Connelly.

[hermetic]

15. Charlaine is great

Always fun to read, IMO.

"Had sweet, fragile, silver-haired Jane Engle, school librarian and churchgoer, murdered someone and put the victim's skull in her window seat? Did Aurora Teagarden, fellow librarian and astonished beneficiary of Jane's estate--including house, cat, and half a million dollars--want to expose her friend as a murderess?"

Fair Warning is quite good, and a good bit true.

[Polly Hennessey]

16. Charlaine is a cozy treasure.

The Connelly book is so good I hate to put it down. I must though because there are critters to feed and stuff to do.

Agree that you are a treasure. So happy to be part of the reading group. 🙂

[hermetic]

17. I am glad you are here

Our little meetups every week are such a pleasure.

[yellowdogintexas]

36. I love Charlaine Harris too.

I loved Midnight Texas and the Harper Connelly mysteries.

[Wicked Blue]

18. The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels

Michaels / Elizabeth Peters / Barbara Mertz is one of my favorite authors.

This one focuses on a young woman trying to recover from the sudden death of her beloved father and detested mother. Heather Tradescant, who received a million dollars from the parents' life insurance policy, makes a sentimental pilgrimage of historic gardens in England. She and her father had planned the trip when he was still alive. They had taken landscaping classes and were avid gardeners. Although there is no proof they're related, They bear the last name of a pair of noted garden designers of the 16th Century, John Tradescant the Elder and John Tradescant the Younger.

Heather, a high school English and history teacher as well as coach of a championship soccer team back home in Missouri, has been brainwashed all her life by her mother into thinking that she is homely, plain, fat, unattractive and flat-chested. She acknowledges being some 20 pounds overweight and husky in build. Her self-described appearance is unusual for the heroine of a Gothic romance novel. After the unexpected death of her parents in a car accident, she quits her job, sells the house and embarks on the garden tour.

A multimillionaire with a passion for old gardens convinces Heather to help him restore the gardens at an estate he had recently purchased. The estate supposedly once belonged to a fictional man connected with the Pendle witch trials of 1612. There are hints that the property contains a very old maze concealed in a wild tangle of trees, bushes, vines and thorns through which nobody is able to penetrate.

Witchcraft and modern Wicca are key elements in the novel. Furthermore, the story includes one of the most accurate explanations of modern Wiccan beliefs and practices I've seen in fiction. My guess is that Michaels was trying to make up for some of the inaccurate witch stereotypes she included in a few of her earliest novels.

Published in 1997 by HarperCollins, "The Dancing Floor" was released in paperback the following year by Harper Paperbacks.

This is a wonderfully entertaining and educational read.

[hermetic]

19. Nice write up!

Sure made me want to read it. Thanks.

[Wicked Blue]

20. thank you

[japple]

23. Still reading Dawnie Walton's book

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev. The timeline of this story runs parallel to my own life and has revived memories of those groovy days of the late 60s and early 70s. IMHO that was one of the best of times for rock & roll.

[hermetic]

24. Oh yeah

Next to reading, music has always been a huge factor in my life. Today, an old song comes on the radio or something, I can still remember the words and sing along, for most of them.

I can't remember you telling us about this book, though. Sounds good. Looks like not officially released for a few more months. Totally something I want to read.

[japple]

27. I mentioned it last week, but might have been late to the

Thread, and my post was a bit long

[hermetic]

29. Shoot... my bad

You most assuredly did mention it, and I even replied. I musta had heat wave on the brain. Sorry.

Well, I definitely will be reading that one. It sounds most amazing.

Hope your fur kids are all getting better. Just learned that two of the four we rescued last month have been adopted, like within an hour of them being put on display. They were really cute.

[Staph]

25. I'm currently reading the Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan.

Many people have heard of the first one, The Thirty-nine Steps, written in 1915, as it was made into a film in 1935 by Alfred Hitchcock (and quite a few others over the years - Benedict Cumberbatch is making it into a limited series for Netflix). Richard Hannay is a mining engineer who made his money in southern Africa and has returned to the Old Country (England!) to relax in the big city. Late one night, his neighbor comes to him with a fantastical story about the planned assassination of the premier of Greece. When the neighbor is murdered (in such a way to put the blame on Hannay), Hannay disappears, to try to find out if the neighbor's little black book actually has real information about plans to start a war.

My library only has the first couple of books (The Thirty-nine Steps, and Greenmantle), but I've found one of the others on Project Gutenberg and the rest on Hoopla.

[hermetic]

30. I remember that movie

Not that I ever saw it, I'm not THAT old. I think I saw it on TV once. You can watch it on YouTube now.

Good job locating the books. Those are obviously some great stories.

[yellowdogintexas]

34. If you ever get a chance, see a production of the stage play from around 2010

It is a total hoot!

Four actors and an amazing array of totally inventive props

[yellowdogintexas]

35. wiki article

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_39_Steps_(play)

[hermetic]

41. That sure sounds like fun

...to be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress (or sometimes actor) plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show: heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. This often requires lightning-fast quick-changes and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once.

I really miss being able to see live plays these days. But, being closed up in a dark room with a bunch of strangers no longer seems like a good idea. And someone always coughs. Always.

[TexLaProgressive]

26. Slowly reading "Treacherous Sands" by Andrea Cartel - I don't know why by e-reading goes slow for me

Listening to eird one by N.K. Jemisin, The City We Became.

[hermetic]

31. I still prefer actual books

They just seem to work better for me.

The Andrea Carter novels are a series of mysteries set in the fictional town of Glendara on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal. These atmospheric and immersive mysteries are being adapted as a television series to be filmed in Inishowen. "Perfect for mystery readers who enjoy character driven mysteries, with a strong female protagonist and a powerful sense of place." I for sure will want to see those.

N.K. Jemisin is a terrific fantasy/sci fi writer. "Every great city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city of New York."

[TexLaProgressive]

33. Thanks for posting that. I was too lazy

I didn't know the Carter novels are to be a TV series. Darn, watching those shows gets in the way of reading. BTW I've been watching an interesting drama/comedy called "800 Words." After the sudden death of George's wife Laura in Sidney he moves house with two nearly grown children to the tiny town of Weld, NZ. It's sort of a soap opera, but unlike the US ones, there is a better balance of emotions and the stories are good. The 800 words title comes is because George is a columnist who only writes exactly 800 words.

[yellowdogintexas]

37. Pineapple Lies by Amy Vanzant

Book one in a 12 book series. Fun cozy/comedy series.

For starters, it is set in Florida in a retirement village. Lots of funny characters.

[hermetic]

40. Yay! A new cozy series to enjoy

"A Twisty Puzzler Complete with Dogs, Romance and a Backyard Body...Solve the mystery before you die laughing!" Count me in.

Better yet, she also writes Highlander Urban Fantasy Mystery Thrillers – the Kilty Series.
Sadly, my library doesn’t have anything of hers. I really need to move somewhere with a better library. It looks like all of her books are available on Kindle.

Search for her under Vansant, though.

[lounge_jam]

38. Saul Bellow and Zora Neale Hurston

Picked up Saul Bellow's Herzog sometime last week. Had been meaning to read this one for a while now. Just 50-60 pages in thus far, but I really like the book. My edition comes with an Introduction by Malcolm Bradbury, which I found quite poor though.

Also began reading Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Didn't know the novel was made into a film, was pleasantly surprised to find out. Also just 70 pages or so in with this one, and liking this too.

[hermetic]

39. Welcome to DU

And our Fictional Book Club. Glad to see you here.