I am so behind on blogging, it’s ridiculous. I have seven reviews to write, y’all…SEVEN. Plus there is my April wrap-up post (already a week late) and my Beatles post for April. I don’t know where these last couple weeks have gone! But hopefully I will be able to do some hardcore blogging one of these days…perhaps this weekend? Anyway, in the meantime, here is a sweet and lovely little song for this week’s Tune in Tuesday: “This Will Be Our Year” by the Zombies.
I really need to start doing more Top Ten Tuesdays! I love the meme, but lately I’ve either been (1) too busy to write the posts or (2) not particularly inspired by the topics. This week should be easy, though; it’s ten words or topics that instantly make me want to buy (or at least read) a book. So here are ten of mine, in no particular order:
1. Jane Austen — Because there’s so much Austen-related stuff out there, from sequels to spinoffs to naughty retellings, I’ve gotten pretty selective about what I’ll actually read. (For example, I’ll pass on anything that involves Mr. Darcy as a supernatural creature of any kind.) But I still try to keep track of what’s out there and make a note of what looks interesting…because it is Jane Austen. And she is awesome.
2. Political intrigue — I’m a sucker for books with a lot of political maneuvering and rebellions and secret conspiracies. I think it’s because I have no gift for strategic thinking whatsoever (as evidenced by my wretchedness at chess and Risk). But even though I’m not particularly good at it, I really like trying to anticipate everybody’s next move!
3. Spies — I think characters who are spies raise a lot of interesting dramatic conflicts. First of all, there’s the obvious suspense: what if the person slips up and compromises his/her cover? One false move could mean exposure and almost certain death. And then there’s the issue of divided loyalties. After the person has been undercover for so long, how do we know whose side (s)he is really on?
4. World War II — This is a more recent interest of mine, but for the last year or two I have become very fascinated by books set in this time period. London during the Blitz captures my imagination the most. I am filled with admiration for the brave people who “kept calm and carried on,” even when their entire world was crumbling around them.
5. Epistolary novels — I know some people can’t stand these, but I love them! It’s a unique way of telling a story that places a lot of focus on characters and relationship-building. It also places a constraint on authors — they can’t write about anything that their characters wouldn’t know about — which forces them to be creative.
6. The Napoleonic Wars and Regency era — This is obviously tied into my love for Austen (see above). But it’s an amazingly interesting period of history, both politically and socially. I particularly enjoy reading biographies of famous figures from the era, because they reveal so much about what life was like back then. A great example is Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style by Ian Kelly, if anyone’s interested!
7. Books about music or musicians — Along with books, music is one of my greatest passions and main hobbies. I have played music for most of my life, starting with piano lessons in 2nd grade and trombone lessons in 7th. I still perform in a community band and sing in my church choir, and if “rock star” were a feasible career option for me, I would be on the road in my tour bus tomorrow. 🙂 Plus, musicians are hot; you can’t deny it!
8. Retold fairy tales — I love that authors are constantly taking these ancient stories and putting a new spin on them. Of course, it depends on what kind of spin…for instance, I’m not personally a fan of very dark retellings. I prefer a sincere happily-ever-after! But I like that these seemingly simple stories can be interpreted in so many different ways.
9. English country house murders — I’m a huge sucker for this story: the unpleasant owner of an estate dies, and everyone around him has a motive for murder. There’s no possibility of an outsider or servant (there are always servants) having committed the crime, so it has to be one of about six or seven suspects. The amateur detective (or occasionally the Scotland Yard inspector — never the local police) solves the crime through a series of brilliant deductions without having to wade through all that tiresome police procedure. Is this story completely formulaic? Yes; but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
10. Slow-burning romance — I am a big fan of novels in which the hero and heroine get together at the end. Yes, I am a huge sap and a sucker for romance. But for me, the best love stories are the ones that take a long time to unfold. When two characters don’t get together right away, each glance and each touch becomes incredibly significant. Delayed gratification also gives the characters time to truly know each other, and it gives their love a chance to be tested. In other words, I like the slow burn. 🙂
So what buzzwords or topics make a book catch your eye? Or, conversely, what makes you steer clear of a book?
I’m sure you’re all familiar with Mumford and Sons, as they are quite ubiquitous on the radio these days…so I’m not telling you anything new when I say that they are AMAZING. But just in case you’re only familiar with their best-known songs like “Little Lion Man” and “I Will Wait,” you really need to buy both of their exceptional albums immediately, because you still have a lot of wonderful songs to hear.
My pick for this week’s Tune in Tuesday is off their more recent album, Babel, and it’s one of my favorite songs by this band. I don’t even know what to say about it except that I think it’s incredible. It also makes the perfect final selection for April’s road trip theme, since the song’s driving pulse makes me think of soaring along the highway with the windows down. Here’s Mumford and Sons doing a live performance of “Below My Feet”:
This weekend was my local library’s semi-annual sale, and because I am a crazy person, I went three times! Here’s what I bought:
Flora Thompson, Lark Rise to Candleford — Picked up this one on a whim because it looked interesting; apparently it’s an autobiographical work about the author’s childhood in early 20th-century Oxfordshire.
J.L. Carr, A Month in the Country — Saw this one in a bookstore a while ago and wanted it, so this weekend I seized the opportunity!
Dorothy L. Sayers, Lord Peter: The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories — I’ve been slowly accumulating all the Lord Peter Wimsey books. My goal is to read them all in publication order, so obviously the short stories will be important for that!
Shusaku Endo, Silence — Been interested in this one for ages. It’s about Christian missionaries in Japan, which is a fascinating subject that I know little about.
Christopher Morley, The Haunted Bookshop — I loved Morley’s Parnassus on Wheels and have been wanting to read this sequel.
Susannah Fullerton, Jane Austen and Crime — It’s Austen-related, so obviously I was intrigued right away! This particular subject is an aspect of Austen’s work I don’t know much about.
In Tearing Haste: Letters Between Deborah Devonshire & Patrick Leigh Fermor — I don’t actually know who either of these people are, but I really like reading letters in general. They give such unique insights into people’s characters!
John Curran, Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making — This was an inexpensive hardcover in great condition, and I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, so why not?
Juliet Marillier, Blade of Fortriu and The Well of Shades — I read the first book in this trilogy, The Dark Mirror, a few years ago. Since I liked it a lot, why not get the rest of the series?
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings — These are some of my very favorite books, so of course I had them already…but my copies were so ugly! Allow me to demonstrate:
(new cover) vs. 
(old cover)
You guys, that dude on the right is supposed to be Aragorn. So you can see why I needed new copies of these books! And the new covers, unlike the old ones, don’t make me sad at all! 🙂
All told, I got 14 books for $30. I know some book sales are cheaper, but sadly my library doesn’t do the whole “Five bucks for a whole bag” thing. And everything is in pretty good shape, so I’m happy! Now the only problem is how to fit all these books onto my overstuffed shelves…
Another 24-hour read-a-thon has come and gone! I really enjoyed myself this year…I think I did more mini-challenges than ever before, and I visited a lot of new blogs. I also liked all of the books I chose to read, although I wish I could have read even more. Altogether I read from 4 books, finished 2, and read 1 from beginning to end — 823 pages total. Here are my answers for the end-of-event meme:
Which hour was most daunting for you? — Uh, whatever hour I stopped! I think it was Hour 17.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? — I’d definitely recommend Gemma Burgess’ A Girl Like You, which I read this year, and also anything by Kristan Higgins or Julie James if you’re into romances. Last year I read Tina Fey’s Bossypants and found it a quick and hysterical read!
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? — I honestly don’t have any complaints this year; from my perspective, everything seemed to go really smoothly!
How many books did you read? — See above. 🙂
What were the names of the books you read? — A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (last half), A Girl Like You by Gemma Burgess, The Birth of Blue Satan by Patricia Wynn (first 100 pages or so), and The Count of Monte Cristo (about 7 chapters).
Which book did you enjoy most? — Really liked all of them!
Which did you enjoy least? — I honestly don’t have a least favorite.
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? — I wasn’t a cheerleader, but I do want to thank all of you who cheered for this read-a-thon. Your hard work kept my morale high!
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? — Oh, I’ll definitely be back. 🙂 I will certainly be a reader, but I’d love to host a mini-challenge at some point too.
9:17 a.m. Welcome to my 24-hour read-a-thon post! This is where I’ll update my progress throughout the day. Alas, I’m off to a bad start because I overslept and wasn’t able to start at 8:00 a.m.! And now I have to go run some errands…but I will be reading later today, I promise! 🙂 In the meantime, here’s the Introductory Questionnaire:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? — Washington, D.C. metro area
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? — I don’t have an official “stack” — I tend to read whatever strikes my fancy — but I’m definitely excited about reading A Girl Like You by Gemma Burgess!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? — Yesterday I stocked up on caffeinated beverages, veggies and hummus, and chocolate-covered peanuts. But I’m still looking forward to my bag of Smartfood the most! 🙂
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! — I took piano lessons from 2nd grade all the way through college. As a result, I always keep my fingernails super-short; if they were too long, my teacher would make me cut them!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? — I think this year I won’t keep strict track of how many hours/pages I read. I’ll just go with the flow, read as much as I can, and hopefully spend some more time visiting other people’s blogs!
***
12:58 p.m. Well, I finally sat down and read for a little while, and I finished Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons. Now it’s time for some mini-challenges! First up is Book Spine Poetry, and here is my poem:
In case you can’t read it: “Three men in a boat / a midsummer tempest / something rising (light and swift) / the farthest shore / a beautiful blue death.” Not very grammatically correct, but there you go. 🙂
Then there’s Book Appetit, which asks readers to create a menu based on books they’ve read or are currently reading. My menu for A Natural History of Dragons would probably involve genteel 19th-century food such as cucumber sandwiches (with crusts cut off, of course) and tea. Soft harpsichord and string quartet music would play in the background; but because the heroine is a scientist and a bit of a rebel, I’d also sneak in some ’80s classics like “She Blinded Me with Science.” As for the book’s signature cocktail, all I know is that it would be called Dragon’s Breath, and it would definitely be tequila-based!
The Retitle a Book challenge is rather self-explanatory. 🙂 Based on this cover of A Natural History of Dragons…
…my new title would be something like A Sorcerer’s Guide to the Dismemberment of Magical Creatures. To me, it really looks like a Gray’s Anatomy for dragons!
And finally, here is my entry for the Book Puzzle challenge. Can you guess what book title these pictures represent?
The
of
***
3:13 p.m. I’ve been slowly making my way through The Count of Monte Cristo for the past couple of months, so I’ve decided that every time I finish a book for this read-a-thon, I’ll read a few chapters of The Count. I’m really enjoying the book…it’s just intimidatingly large and heavy!
Anyway, here’s my response for the Best and Worst Covers challenge!
The one on the left is my favorite; I like the clean lines of the artwork and the drama of the red on the mostly gray cover. And the one on the right is the worst cover; can you say Photoshop amateur?
Next up, I’m starting A Girl Like You by Gemma Burgess!
***
6:32 p.m. About halfway through A Girl Like You and enjoying it immensely. I went outside to read for a bit, since it’s so lovely out. Fresh air = good and important. I’m also debating dinner right now…should I order pizza or stick with what I have in the house? (OK, I know the correct answer to that. But I’ll probably order the pizza anyway.)
Also, here is my entry for the Picture it! challenge:
It is my couch, where I’ve been reading for most of the day (with occasional detours to my bed, plus my one foray outside). The book is nestled into the left corner. You can also see a bit of my “The Importance of Being Earnest” movie poster in the top left corner. (Why yes, that is how I chose to decorate my living room. Why do you ask?)
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9:30 p.m. Okay, I love this Cooking the Books challenge! You take a well-known book title and twist it so that it sounds like a cookbook, then write a brief synopsis. Here’s my effort:
The Bun Also Rises — If you’re feeling exhausted, like you’ve just been through a war, this cookbook is for you! Vent your frustration by learning to bake the perfect pastries, cakes, and loaves of bread. These light, buoyant delicacies are sure to lift your spirits! Traditional Spanish recipes are prominently featured.
I know it’s not polite to laugh at your own jokes, but seriously, that title makes me giggle so hard. In other news, I just finished A Girl Like You, which was a lovely, romantic, fun-filled read. Off to the next book!
***
11:13 p.m. Today I am a very lucky girl — I’ve won TWO of the mini-challenges! I’m shocked but very thrilled and grateful!
Speaking of mini-challenges, here’s my entry for the Turn the Page challenge: “I would rather read than beg your hand to finish this set any day!” The bolded phrase is from page 32 of The Birth of Blue Satan by Patricia Wynn, which I’m about to start.
Starting to fade a bit…I am hoping to hold out until 2:00 a.m., but we’ll see how it goes!
***
12:24 a.m. My Six Word Celebration: “Look forward to this every year!” It’s true, y’all — I put this on my calendar weeks in advance!
***
1:32 a.m. Methinks this will be my last post of the night. I’ll probably continue to read for a little while longer, but I’m pretty sure I will be falling asleep soon! To those of you still reading, you are awesome! But for me, it’s definitely bedtime.
Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-Thon is happening this Saturday, April 27! For those who don’t know, this is an event where crazy book-loving types set aside an entire day solely for the pleasure of reading. As you might suspect, the event lasts for 24 hours, although you’re not obligated to participate (or, ahem, stay awake) for the whole thing. There are fun challenges (with prizes!) throughout the day, and it’s just an overall good time. I’m definitely looking forward to participating this year, although I’ll admit frankly that I don’t plan to stick around for all 24 hours! I’ll just play it by ear. Stop by on Saturday for my progress post — and sign up if you haven’t done so already!
Also, my local library is having its semi-annual sale this weekend! There’s a preview night on Thursday, and then the actual sale will take place Friday through Sunday. I may or may not be using a vacation day so that I can go to the sale on Friday and visit it early and often. *blush* So all in all, I anticipate a pretty awesome bookish weekend!
So I rented the movie “Pitch Perfect” the other day and have become slightly obsessed with it. It’s not destined to become one of my all-time favorites movies; but who doesn’t love a fun, snarky musical that doesn’t take itself too seriously? (It helps that “Pitch Perfect” is basically the antithesis of “Glee,” which I tried to watch but had to abandon when every week’s show turned into another Very Special Episode.) But anyway, my favorite thing about the movie was Anna Kendrick singing “When I’m Gone” and doing the routine with the cups. I am totally going to learn how to do that, and it will become my awesome party trick, and it will be EPIC.
For this week’s Tune in Tuesday, then, I give you a video of Anna Kendrick and the cups! It’s not the scene from “Pitch Perfect,” alas, and I’m not a huge fan of this overproduced version of the song. But the video itself is really cool, so do take a few minutes to watch!
Anthony Berkeley, The Poisoned Chocolates Case
Roger Sheringham is the president of an amateur criminology club. The club has six members, almost all of whom are famous in their respective fields of law, drama, and literature. Since Roger and the other club members are fascinated by crime, they are delighted when a unique opportunity comes their way: a Scotland Yard inspector invites them to try their hands at solving a prominent murder case that has stumped the police. The club members, confident in their abilities, decide that that they will each formulate a possible solution to the mystery and present it to the club as a whole. If all the members agree on the murderer’s identity, they will inform Scotland Yard of their conclusion. As the members take turns presenting their solutions, however, it becomes clear that the case is much more complicated than they originally thought.
This is one of the most unique and interesting mysteries I have ever read. The format is unlike most other mysteries because it doesn’t focus on practical detective work like discovering clues and interviewing suspects. Rather, almost all the evidence is presented to the club members at the beginning of the novel, and the book spends most of its time exploring the characters’ different theories of the crime. I really liked how the book pokes fun at various detective-novel conventions, particularly the idea that facts necessarily lead to one and only one conclusion. Here, all the club members have access to the same facts, but they all argue convincingly for different solutions. I didn’t guess the ultimate answer to the puzzle (although I did have the same theory as one of the club members), but the answer really isn’t the point. Instead, this book is all about the philosophy of the detective novel, and as such, I would definitely recommend it to mystery fans!
The road trip edition of Tune in Tuesday continues, and this week I’m sharing a song that definitely makes me think about packing my bags, leaving the past behind, and hitting the highway in search of adventure. It’s hopeful and exuberant, with a rambling, bluesy rhythm that makes me think of the open road. Here’s “Papers in Order” by The Old Ceremony:
An ex-literature student who can't quite kick the habit.
Classic detective fiction and impossible crimes
A blog about books, libraries, and more. (Since 2007)
Illustrator | Washington, DC
Reading: it's personal
Creative. Strategic. Kind.
Booking my way through 2019 by devouring worlds and living many lives!
before I read the middle
Website of Author Cheryl Mahoney
Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
You Book Me All Night Long 