August Break - 2019 - Day 6 Currently Reading

This is one of my most favorite prompts because I end up adding so many books to my "want to read" list.  I don't know about you but I can't read more than one book at a time and generally I prefer the actual book to a Kindle or Nook version.  However, one of my blogging friends is an author who has been churning out mysteries quite rapidly and if I bought the actual book each time I'd be broke! 

James J. Cudney is the author of whom I speak and right now I am reading the fourth book in his Braxton Campus Mystery series, Mistaken Identity Crisis on my iPad. 




All the mysteries are set around Braxton College and Kellan, the sleuth, has his hands busy not only with solving the crimes but also with his young daughter and the rest of his family.  The characters in the series are quirky and fun.  I've yet to be able to figure out "who done it" before the end of the book.

Jay has written two other books, not in the series, his first novel, Watching Glass Shatter is a great book about a family of five brothers whose father dies suddenly and leaves his wife a cryptic message about one of the boys.  Jay has said there will be some sort of sequel or follow up to this book as well and I'm looking forward to that. 

The other book, Father Figure, is also about a family intrigue but this time is is girls, born decades apart, who don't know that they share a parallel history.   

I'd highly recommend any and all of these books if you are looking for a new source. 

So far so good with keeping up with August Break.  We have no big plans for the month so I should have time to keep going.  Still time to join in!

Making Memories in May - Agatha Christie Readathon Wrap Up

Well, as I suspected, with participating in the A to Z Challenge all month, I was not able to complete the Agatha Christie Readathon organized by Jay Cudney on time.  I did finish though and here is my recap.

I read "The Secret Adversary" but didn't have access to the second, "Peril at End House", so I read "Hallowe'en Party" instead.  It was a Poirot mystery so I felt that I could count it.  It was a good one with lots of suspects as usual.  My favorite part was the way the people made fun of Poirot about the way he walked in his patent leather shoes.  They said he looked uncomfortable and at one point he admitted his feet hurt but he was setting aside comfort for style.  Pretty funny.  This story also had the character of Ariadne Oliver who is possibly Agatha herself as Ms. Oliver is a mystery writer. 

Next was "The Body In the Library."  This one started right off with the murder, no beating around the bush.  Try as I might couldn't guess who done it.  Oddly enough, it was someone that I didn't even consider since, in my opinion, it seemed like almost a side character, not written too much about.    Interesting note about this story is that according to Agatha Christie, she believed that if she wrote two books at the same time and alternated the writing, it would keep her fresh.  She wrote "The Body in the Library" at the same time she wrote "N or M?"  Now I want to read that one to see if I notice any similarities. 

Finally, there was "The Murder at the Vicarage."   I thought I had this one figured out but of course I was wrong again.  Since this was the first introduction to Ms. Jane Marple I enjoyed sensing the skepticism about her abilities to solve the puzzle and then at the end seeing her prove her mastery.  Dame Agatha said about this story, "...I cannot remember where, when or how I wrote it, why I came to write it, or even what suggested to me that I should select a new character - Miss Marple - to act as the sleuth in the story."  You'd think she'd remember how one of her most famous characters came into being! 

The quotes I used in this post came from "An Autobiography," by Agatha herself but they were excerpts in a book called "The New Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie" edited by Dick Riley and Pam McAllister. 

This is a very informative book with multiple quotes from Dame Agatha and a synopsis of each of her stories.  It also gives a history of each of her main sleuths and a bit about the people who portrayed them in movies and on television.  There are some crossword puzzles and things inside as well to test your knowledge of the great Dame and her work.  If you are an Agatha fan, I highly recommend it.

Another book I would like to recommend is "Father Figure" the newest book by James J. Cudney. 

I haven't read it yet but it is definitely on my list as I really enjoyed his first novel, "Watching Glass Shatter."  This one describes the story of two girls, living two decades apart, told in alternating chapters.  I love the cover of the book with the mysterious house off in the distance and the crossroad path.  Makes me wonder which is the right path to take - if there is a "right" one.  From now until May 10 you can get the Kindle version of this book for free on Amazon.  I'm not a fan of reading books on electronic devices but free might make me want to give this one a go!  I am not an Amazon affiliate, just a James J. Cudney fan.  

So, now that I "finished" the Agatha Christie Readathon, I'm choosing "Wicked" as my next book in my own personal 2018 Reading Challenge.  Right now I am two books ahead of schedule!  Hope I can continue to keep up.

What are you reading?  Love Agatha?  Finish the challenge?  Did you read "Watching Glass Shatter" or "Father Figure?"  Love to hear about it!

Agatha Christie Readathon - 2018 - Book One - The Secret Adversary

James J. Cudney at This is My Truth Now has invited us to an Agatha Christie Readathon during the month of April.  I've never participated in a readathon or been part of a book club but I have really enjoyed getting to know Jay this past year through his 365 plus 5 blog series and I absolutely love Agatha Christie so I knew that even though I was already committed to doing the A to Z Blogathon, I'd have to give it a shot. 

Jay sponsored a poll to come up with four titles for the month and the first book chosen was The Secret Adversary.  This is the first in the series that features Tommy Beresford and Prudence Cowley (Tuppence to her friends) as the detectives, or Young Adventurers as they decide to call themselves. 

I've read a lot of Agatha Christie but I haven't read any in a long time and I don't remember this story so it was a fun one to start with.  The inscription on the dedication page is:  "To all those who lead monotonous lives in the hope that they may experience second-hand the delights and dangers of adventure."  Agatha Christie.

While I don't consider my life especially monotonous, I certainly don't get much dangerous adventure in it and I am delighted by Dame Agatha's treatment of the subject. 

I'm not going to give a synopsis of the story as you can find that on Goodreads and other places.  I will instead talk about my favorite parts.  Being a romantic at heart I enjoyed the interaction of Tommy and Tuppence and watching that love story unfold.  I also liked the way Agatha Christie took one character and put them into a precarious position and left them there for a bit while she went on to the other character and put them in a precarious position of their own.  It definitely made me want to keep reading so I could make sure they each came out of it okay.  In the end, even though I thought I knew who Mr. Brown really was, I was surprised by the ending.

In her autobiography, Agatha Christie had this to say about the idea for this story, "That, I thought, would make a good beginning to a story - a name overheard at a tea shop - an unusual name, so that whoever heard it remembered it."  Jane Finn.  Would that be a name that would stick in your mind?  Are you one who eavesdrops? 

Just because I can, I'm using this book to fill the category of a book about a heist in my PopSugar challenge.  There was, after all, some stolen documents at the bottom of the whole thing. 

Unfortunately, the next book in the Agatha Christie Readathon is Peril at End House and I have been unable to get a copy of that one in time to start tomorrow so I've picked another one of her books, Hallow'een Party, since one of the categories in PopSugar is a book set at Halloween.  I won't review it for the readathon but at least I'll be reading with you in spirit. 

As for Mr. Cudney, he is an author himself, his first work being Watching Glass Shatter which is a little mystery too, along with some great family drama.  He is about to launch his second work, Father Figure, and I am excited to read that one also! 

It's not too late if you want to join the Agatha Christie Readathon.  Just click the link and you can get all the deets.  While you're there, check out the rest of Jay's stuff.  He's great. 

 

December Reflections - 2017 - Best Book of 2017

I've done pretty well with my reading challenge this year.  I follow the categories in Pop Sugar's Reading Challenge (here is next year's list). I am just starting book 21 right now.  I'm hoping to be able to finish it by the end of the year.  Since I usually only read at night before bed, sometimes it takes me a while.

I have to say that my favorite book so far this year has been We Were The Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter.

This was one of the "mystery books" that Bill brought home from one of his trips to Oregon.  They come wrapped in paper bags with just a snippet of description of the book and are actually drafts which haven't been published yet.  It was a very interesting true story about a family of survivors of the Holocaust.  It was well written and very easy to follow, even though the family was separated for most of the time.  It was nominated for a Goodreads book award this year. 


Here are some of the other ones I have crossed off my list:

Another of the "mystery books."  This one was about two sisters and a secret they unknowingly share.  I used it for my "book with a red spine" category.

This was interesting about the experiences of Frankie Presto, a musician.  I have read other Mitch Albom books and they are good.  I used this one for my "story within a story" category.

Had to read this book about Sherlock Holmes.  It filled my "book with pictures" category.

This one was interestingly told from the baseball umpire's point of view.  It filled the "book with a subtitle" category.  Now I know why they do some of the things they do.
 

I bought this book to use in making a junk journal but had to read it first.  I remember Al Jolson from "The Jazz Singer" but had never read about his life.  Another interesting read.  It filled the "book with a title that's a character's name" category.

This book was a tough one but I am stubborn.  It was letters and notes written by some famous people in history, going back to the beginning of America.  The first few centuries were hard going because of the style of language they used back then and the periods in history.  The last few centuries were easier going because it was something I was more familiar with.  "Book of letters" was the category I used.

Of all the courses I've taken by Susannah Conway, including this December Reflection, I figured it was about time to read her book.  I am certainly glad I did.  It takes us through her process after she lost a significant other unexpectedly.  She is a wonder.  It was a "book that's been on my to be read list for a long time."

I was a bit disappointed in this Mitch Albom book.  I thought from the cover that I would learn "life's greatest lesson" but I'm not quite sure that was true.  "Book with a month or day of the week in the title" was its category.

Andy Andrews never fails to enlighten and inspire.  Since it involves time travel, I used it for my "book involving travel" category.  Stretching it a bit maybe but I think that's okay.  If you've never read or heard Andy Andrews, you should definitely check him out.

When I saw on the Goodreads site that this book could be used as a "book with an unreliable narrator," I had to read it.  I read it so long ago that I forgot most of the story, which made it even more enjoyable.  Love my Dame Agatha.

This was another one that I was just a bit disappointed in, although there were a few of the authors that had some interesting dreams.  Some I felt just liked to talk.  It was my "book with multiple authors" entry.

I am not sure I got any real "career advice" from this book but that's the category I used it for. 

And there you have it.  I can't say anything yet about the current book:

because I haven't really started it yet although I did preview the first couple of chapters through James' website.  He is a blogger friend I have discovered through the A to Z Challenge and is a most interesting gentleman.  He is also doing a 365 challenge for himself and that is another one of the things we have in common.  I'll let you know how it is when I'm done.

Okay, how about you?  How many books did you read this year?  Take any challenges?  Any suggestions for my reading for 2018?  Love to hear about them!