What are you reading the week of November 11, 2023?

Since the last week of September, I've been dealing with nothing but computer security issues at work. It's had me stressed out for weeks and working weekends. I was finally able to take a vacation day on Thursday which did me a lot of good. When I've had time this week, I've been reading The Stars, Like Dust, by Isaac Asimov. It was his first novel, and it shows. I'm not sure that I can or even want to finish it.

Ugh; sorry to hear about your travails Fred.

As for myself, having finished up A Practical Guide to Conquering the World (a little so-so as a concluding book in a trilogy), I'm also close to finishing up Art and the Second World War. I've also been nibbling on Fairey Swordfish and Albacore and Beaverland; no actual fish or rodents are being hurt in the process.

About to start On Earth as it is On Television.

While I wait for my special order of Sappers in the Wire: The Life and Death of Firebase Mary Ann by Keith William Nolan to show up at the bookstore, I'm reading ahead in the text book for the class I'm auditing at Columbia University on Latin American history. The book is Early Latin America: A History of Colonial Spanish America and Brazil by James Lockhart and Stuart B. Schwartz.

I've been unemployed for months so, in between sending resumes every which way, I've had lots of time to read. This week's reading included:

The Man who Died by Antti Tuomainen - Finnish crime novel, not very good.
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll - excellent.
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky - dull.

Now I am reading The Five by Hallie Rubenhold - so far it's fascinating, and I'm listening to The Want-Ad Killer by Ann Rule, which I'm enjoying.

Murder In the Sentier – Cara Black
3***

Book number three in the Aimée LeDuc Investigations mystery series. This time it’s personal. A woman contacts Aimee and promises information about Aimée’s mother, who disappeared when Aimee was very young. The woman says she knew Aimée’s mother when they were in prison together, a revelation to Aimee. For the next week, Aimée will ignore the press of usual business, and the pleas of her partner, René, in order to focus on finding out the truth of her mother’s past and where she might be today.

I like Aimée as a lead character. I like that she is intelligent, independent, resilient, strong, and more than capable when it comes to defending herself. But I was not a great fan of this storyline. While I appreciate getting to know more about Aimée’s background, and issues that drive her forward in the present, I didn’t really connect with the politics of this storyline. There were so many twists and turns that I had difficulty keeping things straight.

And I really want more of René. He’s such an interesting character … or I think he is. I hope that he gets a chance to shine in future episodes of the series.

This past week
A Christmas Vanishing: A Novel by Anne Perry she passed away this past year so, her last one?
Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly Haller and Bosch team up
Triptych: A Novel by Karin Slaughter Will Trent GBI

Starting today
The Walnut Tree: A Holiday Tale by Charles Todd

I'm still being terrified by/gut punched by Just After Sunset: Stories by Stephen King. Only about 150 pages to go.

Rilla Of Ingleside – L M Montgomery
Digital audiobook narrated by Emily Durante.
4****

Book eight in the “Anne of Green Gables” series focuses on Anne’s youngest child. Rilla is fifteen, starting to get interested in boys and dances, but needing to worry about her brothers and friends now that World War I has started.

I never read this series as a child or young adult, so am slowly working my way through them now. It’s hard to believe that this book is one hundred years old! Despite what TODAY is an historical setting, when written it was contemporary and it has that feel to it. There are young women today, going through many of the issues that Rilla experiences: first love, worry about a brother sent to fight overseas, grief over friends or relatives who’ve died too young. There are also the day-to-day relationships within a family: child to parent, or between siblings. These ring true today as they did when Montgomery wrote the story.

I love how Rilla rises to the challenges imposed by the war; she takes on leadership of a committee, and the raising of a war-orphaned child. I loved, too, how she put together a wedding on short notice for her friend. I see a lot of the young Anne in Rilla.

This is the last in the series, and I’m sorry it’s over. There is a collection of short stories (The Blythes Are Quoted), as well as a prequel authorized by Montgomery’s estate (and written by Budge Wilson) that I may yet read.

Emily Durante does a wonderful job performing the audio version. She sets a good pace and I loved the way she interpreted Rilla.

Boundary Waters– William Kent Krueger
Digital audiobook read by David Chandler.
3***

Adapted from the book jacket: Somewhere in the heart of the Quetico-Superior Wilderness on the Canadian/American border a young woman named Shiloh – a country-western singer at the height of her fame – has disappeared. Her father arrives in Aurora, Minnesota intent on hiring Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff, to find his daughter. Reluctant at first, Cork finds himself forced into joining a search party comprised of Shiloh’s father, an angry ex-convict, a pair of FBI agents, and a ten-year-old boy. But others are on Shiloh’s trail as well; men hired not just to find her, but to kill her.

My reactions:
This is book two in the series and I’m really enjoying getting to know Cork O’Connor, his family and his community.

Cork is part Ojibwe and so he has some connections on the rez who might be able to help in this endeavor. I particularly liked the contributions of Louis, the ten-year-old who listened and absorbed the traditional lessons of his grandfather and who occasionally reminds the adults of that way of thinking.

This is a fast-paced suspense thriller. It takes place over just two days, but a lot happens. There are twists and turns in the plot and neither Cork nor the reader is sure whom to trust. I like that Krueger does NOT have Shiloh sit patiently waiting for rescue; she’s a strong woman in her own right and even though she is unacquainted with the Northwoods wilderness, she is intelligent and works to save herself.

I really appreciate how Krueger writes about the North Woods. The landscape is practically a character – so vibrant and alive and sometimes menacing. I could smell the piney woods, hear the birds, fell the chill of an approaching storm.

I’ve read a later book in the series, and while the plots stand alone, (so far), the relationships do progress, so I recommend that people read them in order.

David Chandler does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and has the skills to differentiate the many characters. I really like how he interprets Cork and also Deputy Marsha

I'm reading The Vulnerables, Sigrid Nunez's latest. So far, so good.

>8 BookConcierge: I loved all of Montgomery's books.

>8 BookConcierge: I read and own the complete "Anne of Green Gables" series. The Blythes are mentioned in The Road to Yesterday, a short story collection.
Rea Wilmshurst edited a series of short story collections by Lucy Maud Montgomery in the 1990s.

Back Of Beyond – C J Box
Book on CD narrated by Holter Graham
3.5***

This is the first book in a new series by C J Box, who is perhaps best known for his mystery series starring Joe Pickett.

Cody Hoyt is an alcoholic and a former big-city cop who is barely hanging on to his job as an investigator with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Department. He’s two months into his latest effort at sobriety when he and his partner come across the remains of Hank Winters, burned in his remote cabin. It seems like a clear case of an accidental fire, exacerbated by the deceased’s drinking. But Cody isn’t buying it. He knows Hank and he knows Hank has been sober for years; then he discovers that a key item familiar only to other alcoholics is missing from Hank’s cabin. Before long he is convinced there is a serial killer at work, but the question is why? One clue points him in the direction of Yellowstone Park and a week-long “back of beyond” adventure outfitter. And Cody about loses it when he realizes that his son is on this same camping trip with his soon-to-be-stepdad. Can he get there in time?

This is a fast-paced thriller with some twists and turns I didn’t see coming. Box moves back and forth from the perspective of Cody and his partner, Larry, to the perspective of the people on the “back of beyond” tour. I particularly liked the way Box wrote Gracie Sullivan; she’s a smart girl, a keen observer, and quick-thinking.

Cody is a seriously flawed person. He likes to operate outside the rules and his drinking is not at all controlled. He is self-destructive with a capital S. But he’s a determined investigator and I like the way he puzzles things out and arrives at his conclusions. He’s got every reason to distrust those around him, as they are bound to distrust him. But in a tight spot, I think I’d want Cody Hoyt in my corner.

Holter Graham does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and gives the many characters sufficiently unique voices to allow the listener to discern who is speaking.

Desperate Hours: The Epic Rescue of the Andrea Doria
Richard Goldstein
4/5 stars
This is the story of the Andrea Doria ocean liner built in 1951, who was taking passengers on a cruise in 1956 when it was hit by the Swedish ship Stockholm during a dense fog and tells the aftermath of the disaster. Goldstein relates the ship's history, the sinking of the ship and the stories of the passengers on board. The collision killed 51 people—46 from the Andrea Doria and 5 from the Stockholm. Very interesting but sad!

From the library
Finished: Capital Crimes: London Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards ("British Library Crime Classics")
Next up: Murder by the Book: Mysteries for Bibliophiles edited by Martin Edwards ("British Library Crime Classics")
I've been reading a few titles from the British Library Crime Classics collection, mostly short stories collections by best and lesser known authors from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

Just about to start A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman.

I enjoy reading about life in the Middle Ages and wondering how on earth my ancestors survived all that was going on with the wars and plagues and daily grind. It is 1018 pages which should take me through November and maybe into part of December depending on how much time I have with Thanksgiving activities.

Barbra Streisand: the Music, the Albums, the Singles
Matt Howe
3/5 stars
This large book details everything that Streisand sang, wrote and her collaborations with other famous musical artists. This was just okay for me. At times it just dragged. I can't recommend it but I am looking forward to reading her new autobiography.

The new thread is up over here.